I'm Not in Love
by shattered crystal
Summary: Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together, without magic for two months. Will they survive each other wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind? HpDm slash!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Repost. Just working out some kinks before adding a new chapter into the mix. Mostly spell checks and the likes.

_**I'm not in love**_

_Prologue_

Hermione sighed as she closed the book she had been reading for the past hour and sat it gently on her lap. Looking up, she glanced through the window on her left to find that the last star of the night was twinkling faintly, finally giving way to the sun that was about to rise. Leaning back against the window, Hermione brought her legs closer to her chest, cradling the book in between. From her position on the window seat, she could see a lone figure stir slightly on the bed without being awaken.

Leaning forward, Hermione stared at the basket at the other end of the seat. A small smile crept onto her lips as she gazed into the basket where a pair of roses laid plainly against each other, waiting for her to put them on display for the world to see. Reaching out, she traced the outer petal of the red one – hers. Lost in her own thoughts, she was barely aware when the other being finally rose from slumber and looked at her with sleep filled eyes.

"'Mione?" the voice croaked as he rubbed his eyes, trying to chase away the remaining sleepiness. Without looking up, Hermione nodded her head slightly. "Is it time?"

"Yes," she answered simply as she stared out at the now starless night, clutching the book tighter in her arms. As a soft breeze swept through the open window, Hermione closed her eyes and leaned back against the cool glass. A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye but was caught before it could slide down her pale cheek.

"No tears. He would want you to be strong," Harry said as Hermione nodded her head. Exhaling softly, Harry peeled away the book that she was clutching tightly against her chest and slowly placed it on the window seat. Reaching forward, he pulled her into a tight hug.

Hermione stiffened slightly but soon relaxed as she allowed herself to be pulled into the embrace, finally being able to accept some sort of comfort from another being. It was foreign, the touch, even though it came from the person that knew her best. Tilting her head slightly, she stared at the blood red book that she had read countless times and tears started to form once again as she read the title that was now embroidered into her brain.

_My love for you by Severus Scott Snape._

"I can't. I can't let go," Hermione choked, finally letting the tears she had been holding back spill as she hugged Harry tighter. He stroked her hair slowly and whispered comforting words to her.

"It will be alright. I'll be right here with you every step of the way and we will get through this together," Harry said as he kissed the top of her head with a gentleness that he didn't know he possessed. Nodding her head slightly, Hermione sniffed one last time and pulled back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. With a small smile, she nodded.

"Together," she repeated firmly and Harry smiled.

As the sun rose and the first ray of light finally spilled through the window, the two of them rose to get ready for Severus' funeral.

Harry sat quietly as he stared at the white coffin in front of him. He didn't know what to think; he always thought that it would be the other way around, that Severus would be the one to bury him. Instead, there he was, sitting next to a distraught Hermione, as family and their remaining close friends gathered to say good bye.

He shivered slightly as the gentle wind of departing fall blew at them, silently drying the tears that were falling from everyone's eyes. Glancing at the one who was delivering his farewell speech, Harry couldn't help but felt disgusted at himself for the new found emotion that was threatening to overwhelm him; hatred. Hatred that Dumbledore, a person who had lived well over his appointed time, was still alive and yet Severus wasn't. Scowling, Harry tightened his hold on the yellow rose that he held in his hand. He was so caught up in his own feelings that he jumped as he felt the familiar hand of Hemione's clasp his own and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"It's time," she said, getting up and pulling him along with her. Looking around, Harry was surprised to see that everyone had begun to walk up to the coffin to say their final farewells. Standing behind Hermione, Harry was both happy, as well as sad, to find that he was the last in line.

He stood back slightly as he watched Hermione walk forward after everyone else had gone. He could see that she was struggling not to cry as she gently placed the single rose she had brought with her atop the mountain that had already grown upon the coffin. He smiled sadly as he watched her talk to him, barely even acknowledging his presence nearby, reliving their tale together, forgiving those painful as well those unsaid words between them and finally, saying her good bye. Looking to her right, Hermione stepped away from the coffin and walked to the tree Harry was standing beneath.

Harry found himself bowing slightly as he stepped forward towards the coffin. He didn't know what to say or what to do. A part of him cried out, not wanting to let go of the father figure he had seen in the man now lying dead in the white box, yet knowing that he had to. He could do nothing but place the yellow rose he was carrying next to Hermione's.

"Good bye, Sev," he murmured, "I'll miss you." It was all that he could utter. He returned to the shelter of the tree where Hermione now stood. After a stiff embrace, they walked together in silence to return home to mourn.

The pair was almost at the gate of the exit, a few steps away from the apparition point when a gust of wind brought the reality of farewell back to Harry. Unwillingly, a tear fell from his eye as the emotions that he had held in check for the past few days finally breaking free. Exhaling slightly while he brushes the stray tear away, he turned round to look at the final resting place of his friend for one last time only to catch a flash of white from the corner of his eyes. Frowning to himself, he could only watch as a lone figure approached Severus's coffin to stand in the position he had held only moments before. Leaning forward, Harry could see that the figure dropped a rose next to his own and before he could even being to fathom the meaning of it, the figure apparated away, leaving only a subtle hint as to his identity. Nevertheless, it was enough.

A single white rose.

Silver blonde hair.

Draco Malfoy.


	2. The Assignment

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Repost. Just working out some kinks before adding a new chapter into the mix. Mostly spell checks and the likes.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

_Chapter 1_

_The Assignment_

"Watch out!" a voice shouted as soon as Harry walked into the communal shower that the seventh year Gryffindor boys shared. Harry, who was still half asleep, looked up, but was too slow and got hit in the face by a wet washcloth.

"Bloody hell! That's cold!" Harry yelped as he snatched the cloth away from his face.

"Sorry Harry. We didn't know that you would be waking up this early," the amused voice of Dean replied as he plucked away the cloth from Harry's now numb fingers.

"Well, I couldn't sleep. Why are all of you up this early anyway?" Harry asked, as he walked over to the unoccupied shower stall next to Ron's and turned the shower on full blast. "I thought I'd be the first one."

"Dunno mate. Maybe we're just excited. It is, after all, our last first day of school. After this, it just won't be the same anymore," Ron replied and Harry smiled at that.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss all this. Pass me that shampoo will you Dean," Seamus said as he pointed to the vanilla scented shampoo on Dean's left. Humming softly in agreement, Dean handed the shampoo over to Seamus.

"Oh yeah, did you guys hear about the new subject all the seventh years have to take? Muggle Studies," Harry injected, changing the subject.

"Yeah, dad told us about it once. He said that it was to 'promote understanding between muggles and wizards from the wizards' point of view'. He was so excited, couldn't stop talking about it," Ron replied.

"So he should be, I heard it was his idea in the first place," Seamus snickered and Ron rolled his eyes in response.

"Well, that is one of the perks of being the Minister for Magic. I just hope that he doesn't get any more crazy ideas like organizing a carnival for muggles that is magic operated," Ron mumbled and the rest of them laughed.

"Don't worry about it Ron, I'm sure he wouldn't. What else did he tell you about it?" Harry questioned as he reached for his shampoo that Seamus had apparently stolen with a glare to the Irish. Seamus just shrugged before shutting his eyes to rinse the shampoo out of his hair.

"He said that all of us are to be paired up with a muggle-born student from any house and that the project is going to go on for about two months or so. They are still working on the rest of the details but I think that they have everything about ready now. Dad thinks it's safe enough since Harry here defeated that slime ball last year," Ron said, chuckling slightly at the scowl now apparent on Harry's face.

"Well it's about time if you ask me. I mean, it would be fun right? And it's been a while since we did something different. I can't wait for it. Hey Dean, you reckon we're going to be partnered up?" Seamus asked as he bumped against Dean slightly, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. Dean just blushed.

"Sod off you great git," Dean mumbled as he turned off the water and walked out of the bathroom with Seamus trotting behind him still lathered with soap. Ron and Harry looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"I wonder when Dean is going to realize that he has a thing for that Irish prat," Ron pondered as he too turned off the water and toweled himself dry.

"Soon, I hope. I mean usually he would just talk to Neville…" Harry trailed off as he said the name, the hand that was reaching forward to turn the knob paused mid way. Ron too, who was smiling slightly, abruptly stopped.

"It's not your fault, Harry," Ron said softly and Harry nodded slowly.

Without another word, Harry turned off the water and exited the showers with Ron behind him. As Harry entered the room, he couldn't help but look sadly at the now empty bed of Neville Longbottom; one of the many students that had died during the battle against Voldemort.

* * *

"Okay class, settle down," a voice called out from the back of the room. Harry paused from his chat with Dean and turned around, smiling slightly at the sight of their new teacher, who looked remarkably like a miniature Molly Weasley, walking towards the front of the class. Standing on top of the podium, she smiled warmly at the students before her as they sat at their chosen seats.

"Welcome class, to your first Muggle Studies lesson of the year. I am Professor Yohanna, and I will be your assigned professor for this year. Now, I know that almost all of you are wondering as to why _every_ seventh year student in Hogwarts this year has been enrolled automatically into this class," she paused as she noticed half of the seventh year Gryffindor / Ravenclaw class were nodding their heads. "Well as of this year, _all_ students that are in their seventh year of studies have to take this subject. The reason is to give you some sort of an idea as to how life is as a muggle. Hopefully after the duration of this course, you will have an in depth knowledge about them and how they live."

Harry nodded his head slightly as he listened to the professor give them the standard 'why-you-have-to-take-this-course-even-though-you-think-this-has-no-connection-whatsoever-to-your-future-carreer' lecture, when he felt Ron nudge his right side slightly. Glancing at the redhead, he saw Ron smirk as he shoved a piece of parchment into his hand. Harry raised an eyebrow as he unfolded the parchment, reading Ron's scrawl:

'_Translated, that actually means: 'We are forcing you to change your perspective towards muggles so that Harry Potter will never have to deal with another Voldemort ever again!'_

Harry snorted slightly as he was thinking the exact same thing. Shaking his head, Harry looked up once again to see Hermione, who was sitting in front of him, raise her hand.

"Yes Miss Granger," Professor Yohanna called out and turned towards her.

"Professor, do we still have to take the N.E.W.T for this particular subject? It doesn't seem to be that practical if we do because we are only taking this subject for one year instead of two like the other subjects," Hermione asked and half of the class nodded their heads in agreement.

"Excellent question Miss Granger. The answer to that question can be found on the piece of parchment in front of you," she replied and with a wave of her wand, a piece of parchment appeared in front of everyone with their name written on top as well as another one beside their own.

Harry looked at his, smiling slightly when he read that Seamus' name was next to his. He figured that the name next to his would be his partner for any assignment for the subject. Looking back up, he gave the thumbs up at Seamus when his eyes caught the periwinkle blue ones of the Irish boy.

"As many of you might have guessed, the name or names beside your own on your parchment is, in fact, your partner or partners for the duration of this year. On that piece of parchment, it also states that your N.E.W.T consists of 60 percent practical work and the rest will be in the form of a written exam. The exam will be taken at the same week as your other papers," she said once she was able to get her students attention once more.

"So what's the practical work that makes up the 60 percent?" Elsa Stone from Ravenclaw asked when the professor paused for breath.

"Patient, Miss Stone. The 60 percent is the fun part. As you may or may not notice, your partner may be either a pureblood or half blood that is not familiar with the muggle ways. If you were raised by muggles, you will help your partner/partners with the things they are not familiar with," she replied, and half of the class looked back at their parchment, nodding their head at that statement.

"There are groups of twos and threes due to the fact that the amounts of half bloods that are familiar with the muggle ways are clearly lesser than the amount of purebloods," the professor explained as she walked around to the class slowly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Eric Stone, Elsa Stone's twin brother wondered out loud.

"This is important because your knowledge about the muggle world is going to be a valuable asset in the coming two months, which by the way is the exact duration of this project. Another detail I have not yet mentioned - this project is not going to take place here, rather it will be carried out in the muggle world," Professor Yohanna said with a smile, halting in the middle of the front of the class once again, facing her students. Almost immediately, the entire class exploded with excited chatters mixed with some curious and angry ones.

"Bloody hell! I knew that this project was a big one but I never thought that it would be this cool! Dad never mentioned anything about this! No wonder he was so excited when the proposal got through!" Ron exclaimed with a huge grin and Harry nodded his head, also smiling.

"Settle down class!" the redhead professor called out with a soft chuckle. After a few minutes of calling out to the overzealous class, she cleared her throat again.

"I understand that all of you are excited but that is only half of the news. Another part of the news might not be what you are expecting. For the next week, all of you will be attending two hours of lectures for this subject _every day _as a crash course in everything muggle." Groans emerged from the students in front of her, just as she expected, causing her to smile. "After the one week crash course, the real fun begins. The following Monday, after dinner, at approximately 9 p.m., all seventh year students are required to assemble at the Great Hall, along with their belongings, where you and your partner or partners will be flooing off to your designated apartments which are scattered across Brittan. The apartment you receive is going to be your home for the next two months."

"We will be leaving Hogwarts!" Hermione shrieked, bordering on hysterical and Professor Yohanna nodded her head. "What about the other lessons! Does this mean we are unable to attend those classes? All of us have projects that we are required to complete for other subjects. Does that mean we won't be able to work on that for two whole months?!"

"Calm down, Miss Granger, I understand what you are trying to say. No, you won't have to worry about that since you are still able to attend those classes. An arrangement has been made between the Professors as well as the officers at the Ministry of Magical Education. It is decided that all of you will still have to attend the classes you've taken but instead of going back your dorm room to retire after class, you have to go back to your assigned apartment. It will be like going to work, but instead of working you will be going to classes. This means that breakfast and dinner cannot be eaten at Hogwarts; you have to make due of that on your own. This rule is only forfeited for those who have extracurricular activities and _then_ only you are allowed to have dinner here," she said as she once again toured the length of the room, the eyes of every one of her students following her every move. Turning around, she then looked at strictly at each student before stressing the next part of the project.

"A magical signature will be detected as soon as any one of you leaves the school. That way, will be able to detect you as well as your partner's whereabouts - so don't even think of escaping this project."

"The floo connection will be opened at precisely 8 a.m. every morning from Monday to Friday and it will be closed one hour after that. It will re-open from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. for all of you to floo back to your apartment. For the rest of the day, the connection will be open in a _one-way_ direction, where those of you at your apartment will not be able to come here to Hogwarts, but those of you who are still in Hogwarts will be able to leave. This means that if you're late, you don't come at all. Think of it as preparations for your working days after you leave Hogwarts," she chuckled at the last part as a wave of moans and groans swept through the class.

"During weekends, the connection will also be open in a one-way direction due to a rule - you are not allowed to be on school grounds on weekends. Any _emergency_ communications will be done using fire call that is connected to the Head of your House, depending on what House you are in, during those times you are not on Hogwarts grounds."

"You are completely on your own while you are in the muggle world. This is to test you on your resourcefulness as well as to see whether or not you are capable to act like an adult in time of crisis. If, by any chance at all that any one of you is in trouble, send out a flare. No matter where you are, the usage of that particular spell will trigger an alarm here in Hogwarts, and a team of Aurors will apparate to your exact location immediately. So if this situation should arise, make sure you are _really_ in trouble and you are out of sight. If we detect any usage of magic of any kind other than the ones to generate a flare, even the simplest spells, and a total of _five percent_ will be deducted from your _total percentage_ for your Muggle Studies N.E.W.T. As you can see, we are taking this very seriously." The news about the deduction of percentage caused a gasp from Hermione and the all of the Ravenclaws. Ignoring the gasp, Professor Yohanna continued.

"You are allowed to stay over at your friends' apartments or anywhere else for maximum time of 40 hours. A total of one percent will be deducted from your total percentage for your Muggle Studies N.E.W.T for every hour you spend sleeping over if you exceed the maximum time given. In other words, if you have a sleepover, the visitors may not _actually_ sleep. The idea here is to get you to return home. It doesn't matter what time, just see that you do. For all of you who are wondering why we're doing this, it is to test your responsibility as well as commitment to a cause," she said while looking pointedly at some of the boys around the class. A few of them grinned in return while others just looked pointedly away.

"As for sightseeing, you are allowed to go anywhere you please as long as you don't apparate, floo, portkey, or travel by any magical means or devices. The Ministry is being very lenient on this one. It doesn't matter, once again, what time you get back to your apartment, just so long that you do and as long as you are able to go to class the next day without calling in sick."

"The Ministry agreed to give you enough money to sustain you comfortably. The money will be given to you every Monday and it is to be used to buy food and other necessary items."

"After the two months are up, each of you will have to submit a report based on the topic that you choose. We will discuss the details of the report during our next class. Any questions?" she asked, ending the lengthy explanation. She only smirked as she watched the students in front of her sitting on their seats, mouths slightly agape. At that exact same moment, the bell that signaled the end of the class rang.

"Right, no questions then? If you do happen to think of any, feel free to ask me during our next class. Class dismissed."


	3. A change of plan

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Repost. Just working out some kinks before adding a new chapter into the mix. Mostly spell checks and the likes.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

_Chapter 2_

_A change of plan_

"_Pluvia Spineus_!"

Harry's eyes widen at the sight of thorns falling from above him. Looking around him, he was surprise that nobody was turning away from this and goes running in the opposite direction.

"You idiots! Get away from here!" he yelled but nobody actually moved, too stunned at the sight of the falling thorns. Harry hissed as a few of the thorns managed to hit him and cutting his already thin skin. Blood stared spilling but Harry pays no heed. He knew he had to do something or else those who have no involvement in this at all would get hurt.

"_Protego_!" he cried out, pointing his wand towards the crowd and forming a shield around them instead of himself.

"Ever the hero you are, Potter; always thinking about others before yourself. Where was this when he was in danger just like them? Why didn't you help him like you are doing now to them?!" Draco yelled as he kept pointing his wand towards Harry.

"Malfoy, what's wrong with you? Stop this!" Harry yelled again, not wanting to go on offence but reluctant to go on defense as well as it could prolong the duel.

"Severus! You could have saved him! _Circino Flammo!_" Draco yelled again and this time, Harry could see the anger and sadness that was shining through the usually emotionless cold grey eyes. Too stunned to think properly, Harry could do nothing but jumped out of the way as a ring of fire formed around the place he was standing a few moments earlier. Finally understanding the reason behind the attacks, Harry could not find it in his heart to fight back.

"_Lapido_!" he shouted again once he realized that Harry was just evading the thorns he had rained down on him as well as the fire. Once he shouted the curse, stones after stones were thrown towards him and yet, the Gryffindor refuses to go on defense, making the blonde more aggravated by the second.

"_Crustalli Pugionis_!"

"Fight back, damn it!" Draco yelled as he directed the daggers of ice towards the running Gryffindor and he smirked slightly as one of them managed to hit Harry's left knee. Wincing slightly, Harry glanced down at his knee and saw that the cut was frozen. Ignoring it, he kept dodging all the spells while his mind stared to form some sort of a plan. He did not want to hurt the other boy; Harry knew he is doing it is because he is still distraught from the death of the late potion master up to the point where he is letting his emotions cloud his better judgment.

"_Avis!_" Harry yelled as he ran sideways to avoid the dagger of ice that was thrown towards him, narrowing missing his head as it hits the wall behind him. Harry, not paying attention to his surroundings anymore, braced himself as flocks upon flocks of birds was successfully conjured towards the blonde Slytherin.

Draco smirked slightly at the choice of spell used but stood strong.

"_Evanesco_!" he said, almost lazily as he flicked his wand towards the birds that was flying his way. Instantly, the birds vanished from view but as he was about to open his mouth, another spell flew towards him and he did not managed to block it in time.

"_Silencio_," Harry said as soon as he saw that the blonde had finally managed to let his guard down for a split second and as soon as the golden spark hit his opponent square in the chest, Draco was rendered speechless.

"_Expelliarmus_!" cried a third party and both Harry and Draco's wand flown out of their respective hands before either one of them could comprehend anything.

"Mister Malfoy! Mister Potter! I am disgusted at your behavior! 50 points each from both Gryffindor and Slytherin! This is too much; both of you should have known better than to fight in the corridors. Mister Malfoy, I am astounded at your behavior especially since you are the Head Boy. Now both of you come with me, we will settle this in the Headmaster's office," Professor McGonagall fumed as both the wands fell into her outstretched hand. Not waiting for the two of them to follow her, she then swiftly turned around and stormed off towards the general direction of the Headmaster's office. Glaring daggers at each other, both of them had no other choice but to follow her, leaving a nearly destroyed corridor behind them.

* * *

"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione exclaimed as she burst through the door and into the infirmary with Ron in tow. Looking up from the book in which he was writing in, Harry smiled at the sight of his two best friend who, obviously, looks about ready to kill.

"I'm fine Hermione, no need to worry about me too much," Harry replied, motioning towards the two empty chairs next to the bed he was currently occupying. Sitting down, Ron just smiled slightly as he and Harry watched Hermione fussed over the smallest detail that she think that Madame Pomfrey might have missed with while Harry was under her care.

"Hermione, sit down; he's fine," Ron said and Hermione glared at him but sat down on the chair beside him none the less. "So Harry, what did Dumbledore said?" he asked, turning his attention to the one sitting on the bed.

"Nothing yet actually. He wanted to talk to Malfoy first so he asked me to come here instead to get my wounds healed. He said that when he's done talking to Malfoy, the both of them will come here and discuss what to do next.

"I don't understand how you can be so calm about all this, Harry. I mean, some of the curses he used are simply Dark Arts materials and you didn't even fight back. You just kept dodging them instead," Hermione pointed out and Ron nodded his head in agreement. Harry, who was expecting that question all along, sighed and closed the book before placing it on the small side table.

"He was talking about Severus you know, back then when we were dueling," Harry said softly, looking pointedly at Hermione as he did so.

"I figured as much," she replied, equally soft.

"I don't know why but I just couldn't do it. I saw the look in his eyes and I just know that he was still grieving and for once, I understand what he is going through. I never thought they were that close; Sev never mention anything other than just random facts about him and I never paid much attention to them. I guess somehow, something triggered his memory of Sev and he just couldn't take it anymore," Harry explained. Looking out the window, the trio lapsed into an uncomfortable silence as the other two thought over what was reviled.

After another minute, the door was open yet again and this time, Dumbledore walked through it along with McGonagall, Sinistra which is the new Head of Slytherin and finally, Draco Malfoy.

"Mister Weasley, Miss Granger, could you please wait outside while we settle this," Professor McGonagall said and the both of them nodded their head. They gave Harry a small smile and then left the room.

"Harry, I trust you are feeling much better?" Dumbledore asked as he stood on the other side of the bed, opposite of where Ron and Hermione previously occupied.

"I'm fine, Headmaster," Harry replied shortly and Dumbledore nodded his head.

"Well, I have talked things over with both Professor Sinistra and Professor McGonagall and we have come up with a possible solution that doesn't involve expulsion. Mister Malfoy, I must stress here how very disappointed I am with your actions today. You as Head Boy should have shown a better control over your emotions and not result to violence. But, upon further investigation, we believe that the situation in which you were in might have provoked you to act in such way."

"Thus, the three of us have come up with several solutions. Your position as Head Boy will be temporarily stripped as of today for the next two months. We hope that this will be some sort of a lesson for you and hope that you will have better discipline in controlling your temper," Dumbledore said and Harry watched as Draco nodded his head, the familiar façade firmly back in place. Harry too nodded his head as Dumbledore turned back to him but then he raised an eyebrow as the twinkle that was gone before returned full blast.

'_He is up to something,'_ Harry thought to himself as he watched the aging Headmaster turned towards the two professors and they, in turn, nodded their head too.

"As for you, Mister Potter, although you did not participate in the duel, you were partly responsible for provoking him. And for that you too shall be receiving the same punishment as Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore said and Harry looked at him, confused. After all, he isn't Head Boy.

"I'm afraid I do not understand, sir," Harry said and Dumbledore smiled.

"You, Mister Potter, will be having a change of partner for you N.E.W.T Muggle Study project. After discussing it with Professor Yohanna, she has agreed to switch your partner to Mister Malfoy here," Dumbledore explained and Harry's eyes widen but before he could protest, another voice beat him to it.

"With all due respect sir, surely you do not think that is the best idea. Potter and I will kill each other within sight and you trust us to live in the same apartment for the next two months?" Draco pointed out calmly.

"While you, Mister Malfoy, think that way, we thought it might be best if the two of you to spend some time with each other, away from other influence that the prejudice of the school and the rest of society might bring. This project is perfect for such purpose and, while we hope that you will manage to put aside your differences willingly, we know that neither one of you can afford to put your grades in jeopardy," Professor Sinistra explained looking at her younger charge with a mixture of sympathy and authority.

"This animosity has been going on for far too long and all of us think that the both of you need to settle this once and for all. The project's environment is simply the perfect opportunity for you to do so and we suggest that you seize it. This is going to be your last chance to make things right," Professor McGonagall continued and Professor Dumbledore all but beamed.

Harry sat stiffly on the bed, not being able to expect the fact that he would have to live with his sworn enemy (since now that Voldemort was gone, the Slytherin had moved up one notch) for the next two months. He was sure that given the circumstances the two of them _would_ go to as far as killing each other at the first possible opportunity, wands or not, but that wasn't what he was most afraid of.

Staying in the same apartment as Draco Malfoy would mean that we would have to sleep with him or somewhere near him and that was what he is _most_ scared of. It is, after all, when he is in the realm of slumber that he is most vulnerable. It was then that any secrets, fears and doubts about himself would be out in the open and he would not be able to do anything to defend himself.

Dumbledore, as if reading his mind, looked through his half moon spectacles and smiled at him. "Do not fret, Mister Potter. Even when we are in the realm of dreams we have, at the very least, one protection against the outside world."

"Have Seamus been inform of this?" Harry asked softly, doubt still lingering within him even after the Headmaster's words.

"Yes, he has and so have Miss Parkinson and Mister Thomas. The necessary arrangements have been made," Professor Dumbledore replied and Harry smiled slightly at this. At least Seamus will be partnered up with Dean even if Pansy will be around them as well.

"If everything is already settled then I have no other choice on the matter now, do I?" Harry said as he leaned back against the head of the bed without looking at the blonde haired Slytherin. Smiling slightly, Professor McGonagall nodded her head, obviously pleased that Harry did not object.

"And you, Mister Malfoy?" Professor Sinistra asked.

"Fine," Draco replied with a wave of his hand. He realized that he was already threading on thin ice as it is and no matter how much he loath the idea of living with his arch nemesis, he did not wish for his position as Head Boy to be taken away permanently from him and thus, he had no other choice other than to agree.

But that doesn't mean he has to like it.

* * *

The Great Hall was filled with the sounds of laughter as well excited chatters as all the seventh year students gathered at the head table with their belongings. So far, only a handful of students had flooed to their respective apartment while the others were waiting patiently for their turn.

"Oh gosh, this is going to be so exciting! I wonder where we are going to live, Ron. I hope it's somewhere near Notting Hill. I've wanted to go there ever since I saw that movie with my parents," Hermione said excitedly while bouncing slightly and Harry couldn't help but chuckled.

"Honestly Hermione, you are bloody creeping me out," Ron frowned while he sat on his trunk, waiting his turn.

"Yeah Hermione, calm down. I'm sure it will be fine, no matter where you're placed. At least Ron will be with you," Harry said bitterly and Hermione stopped bouncing at once.

"Oh Harry, I'm sorry. I can't believe Dumbledore would do that to you. After all, you didn't even fight him back; the last part doesn't count. And furthermore you helped to make sure the rest of us that stood back to watch the both of you didn't get hurt. It was a bit unfair of Dumbledore to punish you for something that Malfoy did," Hermione said as she stroked his back in a slow, circular motion.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Besides, I think they do have a point. Harry and Malfoy have to settle their differences sooner or later and it's just so happen it is sooner rather than later," Ron said absentmindedly, picking at the sleeve of his shirt before Harry could reply. After a moment of silence later, he looked up only to see that Harry and Hermione looking strangely at him. "What?"

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to the real Ronald Weasley?" Hermione asked him back.

"What are you talking about?" Ron shot back at her with a puzzled look.

"It's just that we both know that you hate Malfoy with passion and yet, here you are, saying that it is a good idea to let Harry stay with him. It isn't like you to say stuff like that," Hermione explained and Ron just shrugged. Lucky for him, Professor McGonagall called out Harry's name before he has to reply.

"Well guys, I guess this is it. I have to face that demonic ferret sooner or later," Harry sighed as he reached out to give Hermione a brief hug. Letting go, he then turned to hug Ron.

"Don't worry about it so much. Everything will work out in the end," Ron said to Harry who, in turn, nodded his head. Letting go, Harry then held onto one end of his trunk and dragged it towards where Professor McGonagall was standing.

"Here are the keys to your apartment along with a map of the surrounding area and the floor plan of the apartment. This money is to be shared between you and Mister Malfoy and should be enough to sustain you for the rest of the week. The 'no magic' rule is implemented as soon as you arrive at your living quarter so please remember not to use any of it once you get there," she explained as she handed him a folder as well as a pouch which Harry assumed was the money. Harry, after muttering a quick thanks, then pulled his trunk at the edge of the fire and held out his hand for the floo powder.

"Just remember Harry that things are not always what they seem," Professor McGonagall said softly to him and poured a bit of the powder into the palm of his hand. Blinking slightly, Harry can only managed to watch her retreating back as she called out the next name on her list. Shaking his head slightly, he turned back to face the fireplace and threw the powder into the fire.

"Apartment 20," Harry called out after consulting the folder that Professor McGonagall had given him. _'God, I hate this part,'_ he thought to himself as he howled his trunk and himself into the fire and soon, the images of Hermione's worried gaze as well as Ron's smiling ones faded slowly.

Almost immediately he starts to feel sick as the world around him starts to spin and the images of different fireplace flashes by around him. Not being able to take it anymore, Harry then resort to shutting his eyes tightly and prayed that he ended up where he was suppose to. After what seems like hours to him, he finally felt himself being thrown out of what he suppose was his living quarters for the next month and he braced himself for the harsh landing.

But it never came.

Instead of the hard floor that he was expecting, Harry was surprised to find that it was the exact opposite. _'Dumbledore must have _finally_ figured out that I don't travel well with floo,'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Potter, I know you have some sort of a weird obsession with me but please do keep it to yourself," a voice rumbled from underneath him and Harry looked up, only to find a pair of storm colored eyes staring back at him. Blushing wildly, Harry then proceeded to bring himself upright and backed away from the now smirking Slytherin.

"Shut up, Malfoy. It's not like it is my fault that you just so happened to be in front of the fireplace when it was my turn to floo here," Harry snapped, walking over to his trunk that was thrown halfway across the room next to a sofa.

"Whatever you say, Scarhead," Draco smirked again while he sat down on the sofa and then crossed his arms across his chest.

Rolling his eyes slightly, Harry then finally took the time to observe his surroundings and gasped. The room was, well, for the lack of better word, homey.

The long sand colored sofa that Draco was seated in was pushed back against the farthest wall, opposite of the fireplace with a brown coffee table in between. At one side of the coffee table, a one seater was placed with a small table by its side and a muggle telephone on top of it. Turning to his left, Harry was faced with a double sliding door that give way to a medium sized balcony which has a breathtaking view of the city below. Looking above the white fireplace, Harry gasped again as he saw a plasma television, complete with a surround sound system strategically placed around the room for the best sound quality. The whole room was cast in low lighting provided by the fireplace alone but Harry could see that the wall was a nice beige color.

'_This is amazing! I never thought that the ministry would provide this kind of living quarters to students who are living at this apartment for two months for a school project,'_ Harry thought to himself.

'_**Well, what do you expect? This is the son of Lucius Malfoy after all,'**_ another part of him voiced out and Harry grimaced slightly. Walking slowly, Harry then sat down on the only available seat left and looked at his partner.

"Look Malfoy, if we are going to survive the next two months, we have to have some sort of ground rules," Harry sighed dejectedly while leaning back against the high-back one seater and looking at the blonde.

"For once, Potter, it seems as if we finally agree on something," Draco replied, nodding his head slightly.

"How about this for starters; since this apartment has only one bedroom and I'm pretty sure that you would _not_ want to share that with me, we divided the chores to around the house based on the privileges. Like whoever gets the bed have to cook and takes out the trash while the one that gets the sofa have to make sure the house is tidy and wash the dishes. Every alternate week we rotate to clean the toilet and as for the laundry, we take care of our own," Harry suggested.

"Or how about this; I get the bed until this project is over and you can do all chores all by yourself," Draco smirked and watched as Harry turn an interesting shade of crimson.

"Like hell you will. It's either that or nobody gets the bed. I'm fine either way," Harry fumed and Draco's smirk turned into a full blast glare.

"I do not do trash," Draco spat venomously.

"By the looks of things, I don't think you do much of anything. Fine, you do the dishes while I take the trash. Satisfied?" Harry mumbled.

"Yes. Especially since this house is equipped with an automatic dish washer," Draco replied while getting up from his previous position with ease. He only smirked when Harry scowled at the information. "I will be getting the bed tonight."

"I figured as much," Harry mumbled under his breath as got up and lowered himself into a lying position, faced down, on the sofa that Draco had occupied a few moments earlier.

'_Stupid Dumbledore, stupid fucking Ministry for Magical Education, stupid bloody demonic ferret!'_ Harry cursed to himself. Without even changing into his pajamas, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep in his jeans and shirt, dreaming of a little boy with green eyes waving at him while snuggling against a slumbering silver dragon.


	4. Of foods and talks

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Repost. Just working out some kinks before adding a new chapter into the mix. Mostly spell checks and the likes.

**Reminder**:It is now _Saturday_ morning._ Italics _mean flashbacks.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

**Chapter 3**

_Of foods and talks_

A soft sigh could be heard as a lone figure shifted on the queen size bed, right in the middle of the dark room. It was still dark, but the condition of the outside world continued to pass unnoticed by the man in between the sheets as he gradually opened his eyes and blinked slowly.

Harry lay back against the unfamiliar mattress underneath him and stared at the unfocused ceiling above his bed. For some reason, he couldn't get himself to jump out of bed and start making breakfast although it _was_ his turn to cook. As he continued to lie stationary on the bed, a single tear fell unnoticed from his eyes and silently made its way down towards the pillow underneath his head.

_Don't leave me, please…_

_I love you, Harry…_

"No, please. Don't let me remember," Harry choked as he shot up into a sitting position on the bed and buried his face in the palm of his hands while taking deep breaths at constant intervals.

Memories resurfaced and Harry felt as if he were suddenly swimming in them; drowning even. He couldn't break free of the haunting touches or the soft whispers which suddenly seemed to echo all around him. Sobbing softly to himself, Harry forced himself to slam the doors of his mind closed and shove the memories of his past back into the corner of his mind, unacknowledged for the time being.

Minutes passed and Harry gradually opened his eyes. He swore to himself once that he would never go down that path ever again; it would bring up too many unwanted emotions that he already buried deep inside of himself. He promised himself that he would never hurt himself again under any circumstances at all.

Grabbing his glasses from the side table beside the bed, Harry pushed himself up from the bed while putting on his glasses and walked over towards the window. Harry wiped away the remaining tears that were threatening to fall from his expensive eyes with a single fluid motion while overlooking the view of the slightly misty London.

"I can do this," he said confidently as he watched the first ray from the sun shine while the world around him slowly awoke.

He was ready to face the world.

* * *

Harry walked over to kitchen while unconsciously ruffling his damp hair, making it wilder than it usually was. It was his fourteen day into the month (six into the project days) and he was more and more uncomfortable with the living arrangements as the days pass. Heading towards the silver refrigerator which was at one corner of the room beside the sink, Harry opened one of the doors and frowned. There was nothing in it, save some eggs and milk. Several colorful words escaped his mouth and a conversation he had with the blond Slytherin from Tuesday night suddenly popped into his head.

"_Malfoy, you know that today it's your turn to cook, right?" Harry pointed out as he watched the Slytherin lounge on the sofa while flipping through a muggle magazine. Looking up, Draco just raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor._

"_Why should I? Isn't that your field of expertise? I heard it's a rather normal act for commoners such as you," Draco said smoothly and Harry sighed as he flopped down on the end chair._

"_You get the bed tonight, Malfoy and therefore it's your turn to cook dinner," Harry replied as he watched the blonde continue to flip through the magazine._

"_I can honestly say that I don't see your point," Draco replied._

"_Look, Malfoy, just cook the damn dinner already!" Harry fumed and Draco smirked._

"_Temper, temper. I'm surprised at you, Potter. Do you really trust me that much?" Draco said and Harry looked at him with a puzzled expression._

"_What are you talking about? Of course I don't trust you," Harry shot back._

"_And I wonder why you trust me to cook your dinner for you. The irony of it! Don't you think it'd be an excellent chance for me to poison you?" Draco said again while looking at Harry with a piercing gaze._

"_You can't; you and I are the only two people who are currently living in this place so it'd be too much of a risk for you to do that. If I die while I'm in this house, there's nobody left to blame except you," Harry replied smugly while crossing his arms across his chest._

"_Touché," Draco said smirking while raising his left eyebrow. Harry just smirked back. _

"_And now that we've gotten past the whole trust issue, I'm still wondering why it is that you're still sitting there, reading _Cleo_ no less, while you should be making dinner right now," Harry said again, leaning back._

"_And here I thought that you weren't as dumb as you look. I knew I was giving you too much credit," Draco shot back and Harry glared at him._

"_Look Malfoy, it's either you cook tonight and sleep in the bedroom, or I cook which means you get to sleep out here. Take your pick. I'm fine either way," Harry said laying down the law. Looking up, Draco shot him his most gruesome death glare at the Boy-Who-Lived._

"_Unlike you, Golden boy, I do keep my end of the bargain. I already checked that big silver muggle contraption and there was nothing in there except some eggs and milk. Now, unless you want your breakfast served as your dinner in disguise, I really don't see the point to this conversation of ours," Draco said in an almost hissing manner. At the blonde's explanation, Harry just frowned._

"_And what exactly are we gonna eat tonight? I'm starved!" Harry exclaimed while Draco practically ignored him and continued to read the article he was reading. He seemed to find it rather interesting as the title _'The side effect of using too much gel on your hair' _really did sound stupid to Draco. How was it possible that using too much gel could actually damage hair? It was unheard of, surely!_

"_Malfoy! Are you listening to me? I'm hungry!" Harry said again and Draco looked up at him._

"_Potter, stop whining will you? You are really starting to sound like Parkinson," Draco replied and Harry fumed. "Well, since there is no other option, I suggest you ask for help. I heard you're quite close to a certain house elf. You could just ask him for food."_

"_Who? Dobby? Are we even allowed?" Harry asked._

"_Well, the professor said that we're not allowed to do magic. She didn't say that others couldn't do it. And since that house elf is not a student, I don't see any reason why he couldn't help us with a little dinner arrangement," Draco explained as he sat back on the sofa and looked at his arch rival._

"_Good point. So, how do we do this? I know there's a fireplace in the kitchen at Hogwarts but I'm not sure if our fireplace is connected to it or not," Harry said._

"_We? What _we_? I don't go around begging for food, Potter. That's your job," Draco smirked._

"_What do you mean 'it's my job!' If you're suggesting that you stay here while I go back to Hogwarts then you're dead wrong! Besides, if I'm going down then you sure as hell are coming down with me!" Harry cried out._

"_Potter, don't be dense! It's not illegal! It's not like you're doing magic intentionally. You're not even going to eat your dinner there! You're just calling a favor from a _friend_. I doubt they are going to fail you just because you are asking a friend for a favor," Draco pointed out._

"_Well, if it's not 'illegal' as you put it, then why aren't you coming along with me?" Harry shot back._

"_Well, for one thing, somebody has to stay back here and keep an eye on the house. You can never be too careful, you know," Draco said and Harry frowned again._

"_Then why don't you go and I'll stay here instead," Harry said. Draco just shook his head slowly, wondering how this slow person that he was currently talking to turned out to be the savior of the wizarding world._

"_Like I said before, Potter, Malfoys just don't beg others for food. Besides, the house elf knows you better than me. That way, it'll be easier to obtain our dinner other than the whole mess I have to go through if I were the one who have to get the food. So, logically, you are certainly the best candidate for this job." Draco smirked again as he cross his arms against his chest._

_Harry leaned back as he thought things over. As much as it pained him to admit it, the blonde did have a point. It was the easiest way around it. It was already late, in half an hour the floo connection to the school will be closed and he did have a lot of work to do so that means eating out was definitely not an option. He didn't feel like ordering Chinese or pizza that night either. Sighing, he agreed to it._

"_But if I fail, then you're definitely coming down with me. Is that clear?" Harry said as he grabbed a handful of Floo powder._

"_Crystal." Draco answered shortly as he watched the Gryffindor cry out the location and step into the emerald flames with a smirk._

Harry pulled out the eggs and milk, making the fridge completely bare. He had forgotten about their problem concerning the lack of food mainly because they flooed to the apartment on Monday. Since Wednesday normally meant Quidditch practice for Harry and private lessons on Potions for Draco, the both of them had their dinner at school that night because students were permitted to have dinner at school if they have some sort of after school activity.

They had asked Dobby for help again for the past two night since the two of them had a major Transfiguration essay to finish up during the weekend. Harry knew that they would be able to finish it during the weekend but he wanted to leave it open mainly because he, Ron and Hermione had plans to spend the entire Sunday getting lost in London. Harry grimaced at this; he wondered what Hermione would think of him for abusing the friendship that he has with the house elf. Now, since it is Saturday, neither one of them has any reason to go back to Hogwarts nor that they can since the connection is closed on the weekends.

"Which means we have to go shopping for food," Harry said to himself as he placed the two items on the table.

"You know what they say, Potter. Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness," a familiar voice drawled and Harry just sighed.

"I'm glad you're up. We have to go food shopping. There's nothing in the fridge at all so we have to pick something up if we don't want to starve for the next two months," Harry said without turning around. Swiftly, he pulled out the frying pan and placed it on the stove.

"Then what is it that you're cooking? Mud?" Draco replied.

"No. I found the eggs and milk in the fridge like you said the other night, and I plan to cook it for today's breakfast. We can't eat at Hogwarts unless it's a school day," Harry said and walked over towards one of the cabinets above the sink, pulling out a tall glass.

"Well blimey, Potter. You did excel yourself. Did you think of that all by yourself?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Harry glared and hissed, "I was just pointing it out. There's nothing else to cook."

"Then don't. We'll eat out today. Besides, I don't feel like having eggs for breakfast," Draco said after a pause. Turning around, Harry faced Draco for the first time that morning with an empty glass still in his hand.

"I think that's a good idea. I don't feel much like eggs anyway," Harry agreed as he placed the glass back in the cabinet.

"Good. We'll leave in a few minutes," Draco said as he walked towards the bathroom without another word. While placing everything that he had pulled out back to its original place before Draco's suggestion, a thought suddenly struck him.

'_I just had a decent enough conversation with Draco Malfoy,'_ he thought in amusement.

* * *

Draco stood behind the Gryffindor watching as Harry locked the door to their apartment and turn towards him. Nodding, both of them started walking towards the end of the hallway where the elevator was located. Harry was about to push the button when he noticed Draco wasn't standing next to him like he should. Looking around, he watched in amusement as Draco walked towards the door that was labeled 'Stairs'.

"Malfoy, where are you going?" Harry asked lightly and Draco turned to look at him.

"I'm taking the stairs, Potter. How else would we reach the lobby?" Draco replied skeptically and Harry could feel himself smirking at the oblivious blonde.

"You can't be serious, Malfoy. We're on the 25th floor! There is no way I'm taking the stairs!" Harry exclaimed and Draco smirked.

"Then how do you suppose we get downstairs? Fly?" Draco said sarcastically while folding his arms across his chest. Harry just looked at him and laughed.

"I keep forgetting how little you know about the muggle world. Of course we're not going to fly! No magic, remember? We're going to take the elevator. It's faster that way," Harry shot back and Draco then just glared at him.

"Fine! Now where is this elevator of yours?" Draco snapped and Harry just shook his head. The blonde did amaze him sometimes.

"Don't tell me you don't know what an elevator is! Haven't you been to the Ministry of Magic before? They do have it there," Harry exclaimed as he thought back to the time he was summon there back in his fifth year.

"For your information, no, I have not been to the Ministry before. I have no reason what so ever for me to be there," Draco replied. Harry just shook his head in response.

"C'mon, this way," Harry said as he led Draco over towards the end of the hallway. Pressing the down button, Draco watched doubtfully as Harry leaned against the wall while waiting.

"Now what, genius?" Draco asked and Harry just smiled sideways at him.

"Just keep your pants on, Malfoy. It'll be here in a few seconds," Harry said and sure enough, a few seconds later, a soft ding could be heard and the door in front of the blond opened. Motioning the blond to follow him, Harry stepped into the elevator.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Harry asked while raising his left eyebrow at the blond.

"There is no way I'm going into that… thing." Draco said.

"C'mon Malfoy, I'm starving! It's not like the cable is gonna snap or something," Harry sighed but the pureblood refused to budge.

"No. Way," Draco said, slowly this time as if he was talking to a little boy.

"Then what are you gonna do? Leap down from the balcony? There is no other way down!" Harry exclaimed as he pressed the 'open' button when the door began to close.

"I'm going to take the stairs. I'll see you downstairs," Draco said simply as he started to walk towards the other end of the hallway where the stairs were located.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy, just get in the damn thing! It's gonna take you forever to reach the lobby that way!" Harry yelled at the blonde's retreating back.

"At least it's better than getting into that small box! There is no telling what might happen if I enter that thing," Draco replied.

"Well, I've been taking it for as long as I've lived and I'm still alive, aren't I?" Harry shot back and Draco laughed.

"And this is coming from a person who think dragons are endearing," Draco drawled.

"Hey, I never said they're endearing. I just think they're cute," Harry said in a small voice.

"I rest my case," Draco smirked.

"Fine, take the damn stairs! See if I care if you pass out from fatigue," Harry snapped as he pressed the 'close' button continuously until the door close in front of him slowly. After pressing the 'G' button, Harry leaned back against the back wall of the elevator.

"And to think that we were getting along just fine," Harry snarled softly to himself. Spreading both his hand at either side of him, Harry looked up and stared at the small escape door above him.

'_Well, if he wants to use up all his energy by climbing down the stairs, let him. See if I care!'_ Harry thought to himself angrily. After a few moments later, a small _ding _could be heard followed by the soft whooshing noise as the door in front of him opened. Stepping out of the confined space, Harry spotted the stairs and just took a seat on the one of the steps at the bottom to wait for the pig-headed, as Harry called him, Slytherin.

Harry sat there for the next five minutes until he could hear the muffled sounds of footsteps. Without looking up, he felt rather than heard Draco sit down next to him and Harry waited for him to catch his breath.

"Not a word, Potter. Not one word," Draco growled and Harry just smirked while looking sideways at him.

"Why Malfoy, I don't know _what_ you're talking about," Harry said sweetly and Draco just groaned.

Draco was the first one to get up and motion Harry to get up so that they could begin their day. Walking side by side, Harry looked around him, noticing the brown leaves fall silently around him.

"What do you feel like having this morning?" Harry asked without looking at the blond. Looking around, Draco then pointed towards a small café that was mostly decorated in green at one corner of a building. Harry let out a shout laugh. "Starbucks. I should've known."

"Well, what exactly would you expect? Something that is decorated in Slytherin color is bound to be good," Draco smirked.

"Well, I don't know 'bout the Slytherin color thing but I do know that the coffee there is good," Harry chuckled as he led the blond Slytherin inside.

After a quiet breakfast, the two of them walked towards a moderately sized hypermarket a few blocks from their apartment.


	5. Found and Lost

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Repost. Just working out some kinks before adding a new chapter into the mix. Mostly spell checks and the likes.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

**Chapter Four**

_Found and Lost_

Harry smiled to himself as he watched Draco from the corner of his eye. Even though he was trying hard to hide his excitement, some of it managed to seep through his emotionless façade. After all, it wasn't everyday that the Prince of Slytherin set foot in a market, magical or otherwise.

"Exactly what are we supposed to do?" Draco asked, pulling Harry off from his train of thought.

"Well, we need to buy some stuff. Food is the top priority of course but we have to get other stuff as well. Can you go and get us a trolley or something?" Harry asked as he began making a mental checklist of what to buy.

"There are trolls here? I thought the mudbloods don't know anything about them," Draco asked, puzzled. Harry looked at the blonde in front of him and then burst into laughter.

"Not trolls! Trolleys! Honestly, how do you think a bunch of trolls are going to fit into this small store?" Harry said in between laughter. Draco, on the other hand, was not amused. How was he to know how the minds of mudbloods work? He was a pureblood, for Merlin's sake.

"Well excuse me, Mr. I-was-raised-by-muggles-so-I-know-more-than-you. I don't intend to let you walk all over me so why don't you go find us a trollie, and I'll be the one who will order _you _around," Draco snapped as Harry continued to laugh.

"It's trolleys, Malfoy. Not trollie. Honestly," Harry smirked as he walked over to one corner of the store and got himself a trolley.

"So, now what?" Draco asked as Harry pushed the empty trolley towards him.

"I thought you are the one who is giving orders around here," Harry shot back and Draco just glared at the Gryffindor.

"Fine! If you can do it than so can I. How hard could it be," Draco said as he led a smiling Harry down the first isle; toiletries.

Half an hour later, one dark haired man and one blonde haired man could be seen fighting over which brand of toilet paper to buy.

"Malfoy, it's the same thing. Why couldn't you let it go and get this one?" Harry sighed.

"This is the best one of the lot and I deserve the best. I'm not about to use that brand of toilet paper. Who knows what it's made out of," Draco said.

"All toilet paper is made of the same thing. The only thing that separates them are the prices, and this one is cheaper!" Harry exclaimed as he waved the one he was holding in front of Draco's face.

"That's so cheap of you, Potter! I know it's cheaper; that's why I refuse to buy it! It's probably rough, unlike this which is probably much softer!" Draco countered back.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, it's only 50 pence more. That's nothing to brag about," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

"Then I don't see why we have to get yours. Like you said, it's only 50 pence more," Draco smirked as he watched Harry's face turned an interesting shade of crimson; whether from anger of embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

"Fine, you stubborn headed Slytherin! We'll get that one," Harry snapped as he placed the one he had been holding back on display. Without waiting for Draco, he pushed the trolley forward while grabbing random things and placing them in the still empty trolley, fuming. A few steps behind him, Draco was smirking at Harry's behavior. Teasing the Gryffindor was too much fun sometimes.

* * *

Two hours later, a sigh could be heard escaping from the exhausted Gryffindor as he pushed the full trolley towards the last isle in the supermarket- canned goods.

"C'mon Malfoy, I'm tired. Could you _please _hurry it up," Harry called out as Draco, who was knocking at the glass aquarium which held some sort of fish, looked up at him.

"I know what it looks like and I know how it tastes, but what I don't understand is what it's doing in there. I always though fish lived in the ocean, not in some sort of a tank," Draco wondered out loud as he knocked at the glass again, making the fish swim away from him. Shrugging, he walked over towards Harry and looked over his shoulder at what Harry was holding.

"Tuna? Now that's odd. There is _no way _a fish could fit into that thing," Draco exclaimed as he grabbed the can labeled 'Tuna' from Harry. Harry, instead of being annoyed like he had been for the past two hours, just smiled at the blonde. _'It's like I'm talking to a six-year-old,' _he thought to himself.

"No, Malfoy. It's processed food. The fish doesn't actually live in it, it's already cooked. Well, at least this one is. It's easier that way. We can just open one and eat it whenever we feel like it," Harry explained.

"We can eat it whenever we want to? Doesn't it… I don't know, go bad or something?" Draco asked as he watched Harry pulled some more stuff from the shelves.

"Yeah, it does. That's why they wrote down the expiration date on each can. See? Some food last longer than others. For example, this one lasts longer than the tuna," Harry said, pointing to a date on the can that Draco held. Then he held out another one, this time in a plastic bag which contained dried up noodles.

"We can eat this? No wonder that mudblood Granger had such huge front teeth," Draco said and Harry just burst out laughing for the second time that day.

"Sorry Hermione but that was just too funny," Harry said as if Hermione was right there next to him. Draco looked at Harry as though he'd lost his mind.

"What are you talking about, Potter? Granger is not even here," Draco said again as he pulled out a can of green peas. "Eugh! It doesn't matter what form you take, I will never eat you."

"And this comes from someone who talks to a can of green peas," Harry replied, grinning. Glaring at the Gryffindor, Draco gave Harry the middle finger and walked away from the still grinning seeker.

* * *

"Shit, what I would give to be able to do some magic right about now," Harry cursed as he shifted one of the many bags of groceries from one hand to another. As he was just about to give himself a break and walked over towards one of the many benches, one of the bags he was carrying split open, causing all the contents to rolled all over the sidewalk. Somewhere behind him, Harry could hear the blonde laughing.

"That's graceful of you, Potter. And here I was, thinking that you'd joined the ballet sometime during our second year," Draco retorted as he casually walked towards the bench Harry was aiming at and sat down on it while arranging the bags all around his feet.

"Shut up," Harry growled as he squatted down and began picking up the items. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to come here and give me a hand with this."

"And ruin the show? I'm surprised at you Potter. Do you really think I would do such a thing," Draco gasped and then smirked at Harry, his silver eyes shining with amusement.

Harry, knowing that fighting with the blonde was _always_ a lost cause, just ignored him. Finally, after gathering up everything, Harry joined Draco on the bench but instead of placing the groceries by his feet, he placed them in between the Slytherin and himself.

"God, I'm starving," Harry said out loud as he stretched his arms above his head.

"I knew that the weasel's stomach was a miniature black hole but I didn't think yours was too," Draco said nonchalant while observing the people around him. Harry had to resist the urge to pound him to the ground but before he could even register the thought, a sign caught his attention.

"Damn! Why didn't I think of it before! It would be so much easier with it!" Harry cried out as he shout up to his feet and practically sprint towards the sign.

"Potter, where the hell are you going? You're not leaving me here with all of these groceries!" Draco yelled out as he watched Harry's action, wishing that he could leave the many bags by the bench and ran after him but before he knew it, the Gryffindor had already disappeared out of sight.

Draco, after realizing that there was no point in yelling at someone who can't hear you, just flopped back down on the bench in a graceful sort of way and waited for Harry to return. He decided to observe the people around him as he continued to curse the Golden Boy with words that he never even knew existed.

His attention, however, was drawn to a small family of three, sitting under a shady tree at a nearby park, across from where he was sitting, having a picnic lunch. A memory from the past suddenly resurfaced and Draco suddenly found that he was no longer there.

* * *

_A small boy of two was running across a sun-drenched meadow as a blonde haired man chased after him from behind. Although he ran as fast as his little feet could carry him, the boy could not outrun his father as the man scooped the boy in his arms and spun him around in circles. The boy squealed with laughter._

"_Faster, Daddy!" he yelled in the mist of their adjoined amusement and the blonde haired man could do nothing but comply. After a few more minutes, the both of them collapsed onto the ground, the boy on top his father, as they caught their breath._

_The boy then pulled himself up and tucked his head underneath the one of his father's. Gripping the smaller form tighter against his chest, the man just smiled contentedly as his baby boy giggled softly against his chest._

"_I love you, daddy," the boy said and the man felt his heart swell with joy at those four simple words of affection._

"_I love you too, sweetheart," he replied softly as he kissed the crown of the boy's head lovingly.

* * *

_

"Malfoy!" a voiced yelled and Draco snapped back into reality. Looking up, he saw Harry's face looking at him with something akin to worry.

"What Potter?" Draco asked as he looked away from those expensive eyes to gather himself again. Harry, on the other hand, was surprised at the blonde. After all, it was the first time ever he saw the blonde zone out like that.

"Are you okay? You look kinda pale," Harry asked as he took a seat next to the blonde like before.

"What are you rambling about? I'm always pale or have you gone color blind too?" Draco drawled, looking at Harry. He was glad to see that the Gryffindor was blushing slightly.

"Well, sorry for worrying. I should have made a run for it when I had the chance," Harry scowled. Without saying another word to his blonde companion, Harry got up and began to pick up his share of the load. Puzzled, Draco too got up and mimicked the Gryffindor's movement.

"Where are we going? I thought you said that you were hungry," Draco drawled as he followed Harry. Harry however just glared at the blonde and just flat out refused to tell him.

"Potter, you better tell me where you're taking me or I'm not taking another step," Draco said while halting right in the middle of the sidewalk. Harry just kept walking.

"Potter, I'm talking to you!" Draco yelled and then suddenly something inside Harry just snapped and he turned around and glowered at the blonde.

"What is it with you? Can't you just shut up for one fucking second and just trust me!" Harry yelled, making those around him walk faster in order to avoid the confrontation between the two men.

"Well it's not my fault that you're all emotional. It's not like you're not used to this," Draco replied.

"Well, maybe I just got sick and tired of all the fighting and the insults! Have you ever thought about that, huh Malfoy? Or is that just too much to ask since by doing that, you would actually have to think of other people's feelings other than yourself," Harry said angrily as he poked Draco's chest, hard.

"Contrary to popular belief, Potter, I do think of other peoples' feelings beside my own. I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Draco said. He then pushed Harry back slightly after placing the groceries down on the pavement.

"Oh, I feel so honored. The great Draco Malfoy actually considered my feelings before his own. Bullshit!" Harry yelled again and this time, he picked up the bags he had dropped earlier and continued to walk in the opposite direction of where the apartment was located. Not wanting to make a fool of himself, Draco followed suit.

After a few shot minute however, Harry stopped walking and pulled out a bunch of keys from the pocket of his jeans.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked as he watched Harry pressed a button and a beeping sound could be heard from somewhere to his left.

"If you had given me a chance to explain earlier, I would've told you that I had rented us a car for us to use for the next two months. Put the bags in here," Harry instructed coldly as he too placed the bags he was carrying at the back of the car.

"Fuck you Potter! What do you mean I didn't give you a chance to explain? You practically jumped up and left me to rot back there! I just had enough common sense to follow you," Draco shouted while throwing the plastic bags that he was carrying into the car roughly.

"I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't-"

"Hadn't what, Potter? Acted the way I have been for the past six years? Get a grip! Do you really think I'd change overnight and suddenly become your best friend?" Draco cut in before Harry had the chance to respond.

"Get in the car," Harry barked after a short staring contest with the Slytherin. He then got in the driver seat without waiting for Draco. From the sidewalk, Draco just stared at Harry.

"No fucking way! Not until you tell me what I'm getting myself into," Draco exclaimed as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Malfoy, just trust me, alright? We're both having a long day and it's faster this way. Just get into the damn car," Harry said tiredly as he opened the door to the passenger seat from the inside.

"I wouldn't trust you if you were the last being on the planet," Draco stated and he watched in amazement as those jade green eyes suddenly darken, looking as if it was black in color.

"Fine! Walk! Let's see how you deal with being in the muggle world alone," Harry spat. Slamming the door shut, Harry then started the engine and swiftly drove away, leaving Draco stranded in an unfamiliar territory.

"Bloody hell," Draco cursed to himself as he let his arms fall beside him. Looking up at the sky, he realized for the first time that it was beginning to drizzle. Stuffing both his hands into his coat pocket, Draco began to walk. He had only taken a few steps when he stopped abruptly, realizing that he had two major problems.

One: He had no muggle money with him.

Two: _He was lost_.

* * *

Harry got out from the car and shut the door to it with a loud slam. Glaring darkly at nothing in particular, he proceeded and took all the groceries, barely managing to stay upright as he walked towards the elevator. Once he got inside, he pressed the required button and leaned back against the back wall, still fuming.

"Damn that Slytherin to the lowest pit of hell!" Harry yelled suddenly while his left hand connected to the side of the elevator wall. Ignoring the pain, Harry just took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.

'_Damn it Harry, you should've known better than to let him get under your skin like that,' _a part of him that suspiciously sound like Hermione voiced out and Harry just sighed as the final traces of his anger melted away, remorse taking its place. Once he reached the required floor, Harry once again struggled with the bags. It took him ten full minutes to navigate his way through the short hallway and once he finally managed to dump the load on the dining table, his anger had managed to return full force.

Harry walked towards the adjoining living room and he was about to throw himself on the sofa when he saw the blonde's pillow and the extra blanket folded neatly at one corner of the sofa. Suddenly, the mere thought of being in the living room suffocated him.

So he did the first thing that crossed his mind. He grabbed the floo powder and threw it into the fireplace, the emerald flame waiting for him to make the next move. Without thinking about the consequences, he yelled out "Apartment 10!" and stepped into the inviting blare.

Hermione was curled in front of the fireplace with an open book on her lap when Harry stepped out from it. Swiftly, she got up and helped steady the other Gryffindor, not caring that her book was falling and gradually, hitting the carpeted floor.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked after he had managed to come to his senses. Harry didn't say a word. Instead, he just buried his face at the crook of her neck and suddenly, without meaning to, broke down.

To say she was shocked was an understatement but she just kept quiet as she slowly stirred him towards the sofa. Letting Harry sob against her, she just stroked his back while whispering comforting words to him. Minutes later, he fell into an uneasy sleep in the circle of her arms.

And that was how Ron found them when he returned home a few hours later.

* * *

It was almost ten o'clock when Harry finally stepped through the fireplace in his apartment. He didn't realize it at first but only after the light from the fire had died down did he notice the lack of life in the small place.

'_Don't tell me he's already asleep,' _Harry thought to himself as he switched on the lights. After the house was completely illuminated, Harry began to cross the living room, towards the dining room where the groceries were located, apparently untouched.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy. The least you could do is put away the groceries," Harry mumbled under his breath. Thinking that he might as well change his clothes and then put away the groceries, he then walked towards the bedroom and knocking the door softly. After knocking the door a few times and getting no response, Harry opened it and peaked into the dark room, expecting to see the blonde already in bed.

"Malfoy?" Harry called out softly as he poked his head through the small gap in between the door. After his eyes adjusted his eyes to the darkness, Harry entered the room fully and was surprised to see the bed empty.

"Malfoy!" Harry yelled louder and when he got no reply, he darted back out into the living room.

'_Shit! Don't tell me he hasn't found his way back yet,' _Harry thought to himself again as he looked around for his car keys frantically. He found them lying on the table right beside the small pouch of muggle money Professor McGonagall had given him a few days earlier.

'_Oh no, the money was with me all this time! He couldn't call the cab to get home. That is, assuming that he hasn't gotten himself lost yet,' _Harry panicked and darted out the door, barely remembering to lock it. Without another thought, he made his way towards the car he had rented earlier and got into it. Starting the engine, he drove towards where he had left Draco earlier.

"Damn it!" Harry yelled as he hit the steering wheel with his fist as he drove towards the street he had left Draco at. Thinking logically, he realized that Draco might not have lingered at the exact same spot for almost seven hours!

'_**Just park the car, get out and look for him. He couldn't have gotten that far,'**_a part of him said and Harry did just that.

'_I left him there, alone, for the past seven hours. Do you really think he would linger?'_ Harry argued to himself but parked the car anyway.

'_**Well, it's the only lead you have, so go with it,'**_it argued back and that was when Harry decided that he was really panicking if he was arguing with himself.

"Malfoy, where are you?" Harry said to himself as he looked around him, searching for the familiar blonde hair. He knew the blonde was somewhere nearby, he just wasn't sure of his exact location.

"Give it up pretty boy and I'll let you go," Harry heard a voice said and stopped abruptly, turning towards the voice. It was coming from the dark alleyway on his right not far from where he had left Draco earlier.

'_**Just turn around and leave, Harry. Look for Malfoy and don't get yourself into any more trouble!'**_ a part of him yelled out but Harry, against his better judgment, ignored the voice and slowly walked into the alleyway, making sure to stay in the shadow.

"I told you, I don't have any money, if that's what you're looking for! Now let me go!" another voice yelled out in a strangely calm voice. Harry heart leaped at his throat. He knew that voice!

"Well, too bad for you then now, ain't it? Looks like I have to take something else from you," the first voice said, chuckling slightly. Harry continued to creep slowly towards the two voices and after a while, two figures could be seen standing at a small distance from him.

Harry just managed to swallow a gasp as he realized his hunch was correct; that the second voice did belong to one Draco Malfoy. But that wasn't what shocked him the most and glued him to the spot. It was the calm and collected outlook the blonde was projecting. Even from where he was standing, Harry could see no fear in that stormy depth of his eyes at all!

It was quite odd since a huge punk man had him cornered to a wall with a 3 inch silver knife pointed at his throat.

'_Fuck! Now how am I supposed to get him away from here?'_ Harry thought to himself as he watched the man walk slowly creep towards the blonde. Looking around him, Harry spotted a small piece of plank at the side of the wall. Picking it up, Harry looked up at the two figures in front of him again.

'_Just do it!'_ Harry yelled to himself and before he knew it, he found himself on top of the man, knocking him on the head with the plank as hard as he could. Screaming at the sudden attack, the punk man then collapsed, face down and unconscious. Harry then slid down next to him while panting slightly, adrenalin still rushing through his veins.

"It's about time, you bloody Gryffindor! You left me stranded here, without money, might I add, for seven fucking hours!" Draco yelled when he realized who it was that saved him.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize that the money was with me. I thought you had some of it with you as well," Harry replied, still panting as he looked everywhere else except at the blonde man in front of him.

"Well, news flash! I don't! You should have realized that after two hours and still I have yet to reach the apartment! I know you're dense, Potter but come on!" Draco yelled again and Harry stood up from his previous kneeling position before.

"I left the apartment as soon as I reached it! I didn't even realized that you would still be here until a few minutes ago. I didn't know, alright! Besides, if you would just get in the car like I told you, none of this would ever have happened!" Harry yelled back.

"Oh, so it's my fault, then? It's my fault that you left me in the middle of nowhere when I asked you what I was about to get myself into? It's my fault that you can't handle my usual taunts without your two sidekicks? It's my fucking fault that I'm just being me!" Draco yelled in reply and Harry winced slightly. He knew it wasn't Draco's fault; it was his.

"I'm sorry okay. I'm sorry! Yes, you were right, it's my fault. Now can we please just go home?" Harry said, almost pleading. He already pushed himself up and walked towards the car, without waiting for the blonde. He knew Draco would follow him this time; he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice in one day.

He was just about to walk to the sidewalk when a yelled caused him to turn around abruptly. There, standing behind the fallen Slytherin, was the man that had attacking Draco earlier. Harry swiftly pulled himself back into the shadows, ready to attack when an opportunity presents itself. Apparently, the punk man didn't realize that he was still there.

"That's what you get for trying to get away from me, you little shit," he said groggily, one of his hand reaching up to cover his bleeding head. Draco, who was on the floor, just groaned in response, unable to do anything else.

"Where's your friend? I have to agree that he was quite the looker but I guess I can't push my luck. You'll just have to do then," the man said again and dropped down to where Draco was.

Harry watched in horror as the man covered Draco's lips with his own in a bruised kiss and the Slytherin couldn't do anything else but whimper. Before his eyes, the Prince of Slytherin was going to get raped if he didn't do something soon.

His eyes suddenly caught the sight of the plank that he had used earlier to knock the man unconscious. Cursing himself for letting the plank go that soon, he cautiously walked towards the piece of wood, not far from where he was standing. All the while, he kept an eye on the man so that he wouldn't do anything horrible to Draco. Finally, after what seems like hours, Harry's finger finally curled around the wood reassuringly once again.

"Be still now. I don't want to be dying just yet," the man laughed as he slipped his hand into Draco's shirt and Draco squirmed weekly, trying to get away. Seeing this, Harry's blood boiled.

"Oh no you don't!" Harry yelled as he swung the wood as hard as he can to the punk's head. When the man slumped forwards for the second time that night and land above Draco, Harry hit the man's head again, just to make sure. Panting, he stood back to admire his handiwork.

"As much as I love to see you look at me like that, it would be so much better is you can get this piece of vermin off me," Draco choked weekly. Smirking, Harry pulled the man off Draco and squatted down to examine the unconscious man.

"He's not dead but I don't think he'll be up and about any time soon," Harry said but Draco didn't reply. Puzzled at the lack of response from the usually ill mouth blonde, Harry turned around to look at him and gasped at what he saw.

"Oh _Merlin_."


	6. Don’t Leave Me

**Disclaimer: **NOT MINE!

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…).

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Warnings:**Slightly OOC (Yes, I'm admitting it now, for this chapter that the characters are in fact, _slightly_ OOC) and another cliffhanger. Slightly anyway…

_**Chapter Five**_

_-:-Don't Leave Me-:-_

"Oh god," Harry cried out although his voice was barely a whisper as he looked at the sight before him. Suddenly, the image of Draco Malfoy was gone and the rest of the things around him melted away.

Harry felt himself freeze to the spot as the scene of the final battle played out in front of him. Cold bodies lying down on the hard ground, many of them had the same haunted look but none of them mattered much to him; he had already expected it to be this way. That is, none mattered except one.

He felt on to his knees as a quiet sob escaped from his semi parted mouth. Without realizing it, silent tears fell down from his eyes, clouding his glasses. Slowly, he reached out and wiped away the blood that was still oozing out from the corner of the person's mouth, smearing it over his hands as well.

Feeling the soft motion of Harry's touch, the person's eyes slowly opened and Harry gasped. Smiling slightly, a hand that was once on the ground came up and touched the hand that Harry used to wipe away the blood.

_I love you…_

"No!" Harry yelled as he lunged forward and buried his face against the soft strands of hair while sobbing gently. "Please, don't leave me. I'm sorry."

"Potter! Snap out of it!" a weak voice snapped while struggling slightly against Harry's death grip. Slowly, Harry opened his eyes and the scene of the final battle was gone. In its place was the familiar alleyway.

That and one bleeding Draco Malfoy.

Harry blinked slowly and pulled back from the bloody body in his arms. Draco's eyes were closed and his breathing was slightly uneven while trying desperately not to cry out as Harry moved away from him.

"Malfoy, are you alright?"

"What kind of stupid question is that? How do you_ think_ I feel?" he retorted back while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Harry just managed to swallow a gasp as he realized that his hand too was covered with the crimson liquid.

"Judging from the look on your face, I don't think I'm up to my usual standard," he smirked as his eyes began to close.

"Oh no you don't! Malfoy, don't do this to me! Wake up!" Harry yelled as he positioned himself behind Draco's head and placed it gently on his lap.

"Stop shouting and let me be!" Draco cried out and hissed when the pain became unbearable from when he moved.

"You can't go to sleep, Moron, or you might never wake up! That bastard stabbed a three inch knife in you and from where I stand, you don't look so good!" Harry snapped while looking around frantically to see whether or not there were any passers-by that could help him.

"Then what the hell are you still hovering around here for? Go and find some help!" Draco cried back, albeit weekly, but Harry kept quiet, unmoving. "Bloody hell, Potter. Do you _want _me to bleed to death?"

"I don't want to leave you here alone, okay! I don't want to leave you alone," Harry snapped but repeated it more slowly the second time, as if he was talking to himself. Draco looked up, all the while struggling to stay conscious, at the Gryffindor for the first time since Harry had pulled him into that position but Harry kept looking away.

"Potter, look at me," Draco said in an almost calm voice while trying very hard to block away all the sharp stabbing pain that was coming from his chest but Harry refused. "Potter."

"What?" Harry replied timidly and finally looked at the blonde in his lap.

"I'm not going anywhere and by the look of things, neither does that stupid man. Just get up and look for help as quickly as you can," Draco said and after a short pause, Harry nodded his head slowly.

"You promise?"

"I promise. Just get your arse off the floor and look for help before I pass out from losing too much blood," Draco sneered.

Nodding his head slowly again, Harry lifted the blonde's head and placed it back on the dirty ground beside his leg and got up. Glancing at the wheezing blonde once more, Harry quickly dashed towards the street where he was positive he saw a pay phone not far from where he parked his car, not caring that his clothing was drenched with Draco's blood.

"C'mon. Where the hell is it? I know it's here somewhere," Harry mumbled to himself as he ran as fast as possible towards the car. Upon reaching it, Harry look around him, until his eyes fell upon a red box, right across the street. _A pay phone._

Harry raced towards it, cars be damned. He was lucky that it was so well into the night as there weren't any cars driving around that area. Once the pay phone was in front of him, Harry reached for its receiver and dialed 9.

"Emergency. How may I help-"

"Please, my friend has just been stabbed and he's bleeding badly. I need help as soon as possible," Harry said desperately, not waiting for the operator to finish her line.

"Calm down sir and please tell me where you are. How bad are his injuries?" she said again when Harry had paused for breath.

"I don't know where I am. He was stabbed at some alleyway by this big hairy punk man and his stab wound is rather deep. I think it's really close to his heart but I'm not sure," Harry replied again.

"Okay, listen carefully. I need you to look around you and try to locate some sort of a street sign or anything that might help you to tell us where you are. Can you do that?" she said slowly and Harry nodded his head though the operator couldn't see the gesture. Poking his head out from the telephone box, he looked out and saw a sign.

"There's a sign that reads Bishop Street but the alleyway is a few blocks down from that sign," Harry replied again.

"That's good. Now I need you to go back to your friend and do some things before help arrives. I need you to take any piece of clothing that is clean and press it over his wounds to slow the blood loss. Then, if you can, carry him out of the alleyway to any place that we might be able to see you. It won't take long, there's a hospital nearby. Can you do that?" she instructed and Harry nodded his head again.

"Okay. Thank you!" he said hurriedly and slammed the receiver back at its phone rest. Soon after that, he was seen running back to where he had found Draco's earlier.

Harry then skidded into a full stop beside the blonde and quickly fell down onto his knees. To his shock, Draco had already passed out and Harry wasn't sure if it was from the blood loss or otherwise.

"Malfoy! Malfoy, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand. Malfoy!" Harry yelled as his right hand shot over towards Draco's left as it has a life of its own and held out Draco's hand gently. When he didn't get the positive response he was hoping for, Harry let go of the now chilled hand and took off his outer shirt.

"Please don't take him just yet. Not him too," Harry prayed softly as he gently pressed down on the wound with his shirt. Almost immediately, the shirt in question was drenched with Draco's blood.

Ignoring his gut feeling telling him that he need to use, at least a tiny bit, of a healing spell, Harry smoothly lifted up Draco's body in a single fluid motion and hurriedly hustled towards the mouth of the alleyway, unconsciously clutching the frail body closer to his form as if he was lending the blonde his own body heat.

"What are you doing to me?" Draco mumbled as he struggled in Harry's grasp and Harry looked down and saw Draco's misty silver orbs. He smiled reassuringly, if not a little bit strained.

"It's okay. Everything's gonna be alright. I've got you," Harry replied softly and was relieved to see the blonde nodded slowly. Draco was about to close his eyes again but Harry shook his body slightly. "Malfoy, I need you to stay awake for me. C'mon Malfoy, fight it."

"Can't. Too painful," Draco choked while he gasped a few mouthful of air. "Hurts to breathe."

"I understand but you're starting to burn and I'm afraid to let you go back to sleep. You might never wake up. You promised not to leave, remember? I'm gonna hold you to that promise," Harry said, uncharacteristically gentle to his sworn rival.

"I- Can't," Draco stifled again but this time much weaker than the last time. Something inside Harry froze as he watch the Prince of Slytherin starting to give up fighting and to Harry's bewilderment, he found himself leaning down and kissing Draco's forehead.

"It's gonna be okay, Draco. Just hold on. They'll be here soon," Harry mumbled again against the burning skin. For a moment, Harry was scared that Draco did, in fact, give up but he let out the breath that he didn't realized that he was holding when he felt the minute movement under his lips. Without looking at the blonde, Harry kneeled down and was about to place the blonde on the pavement but Draco just grasped his t-shirt loosely. Harry looked down at him.

"Don't. I'm… freezing," he said and Harry just nodded his head in understanding.

Harry kept a close watch on the blonde as he struggled with every breath, wishing that he could help him in some way. Only when the blonde looked at him did turn away. Not because he was embarrassed that he was caught staring at him but because of the look in those eyes.

It was the look of pure torture because of the intense pain. The pain that _he_ had caused.

Suddenly, the guilt that was buried underneath all the panic and anxiety hit him full force as he realized that he had caused _another_ innocent being to feel pain just because of his lack of self control. If only he hadn't left him there alone. If only he had enough common sense in him to fight the urge to leave him there in the first place. If only-

"If only you would stop blaming yourself for everything that goes bad in this world. It wasn't your fault for crying out loud," the blonde mumbled, pausing for breath every now and then with his eyes closed. Harry stared at him in shock. He didn't realize that he was speaking out loud.

"Yes Potter, you were mumbling it under your breath. Now could you please shut the fuck up and let me rest. Your voice is giving me a bloody headache," Draco replied, albeit a little incoherently and Harry frowned.

"I have no idea how you can bitch about everything when you're lying here, bleeding to death and struggling with every breath," Harry said again and Draco gave him a weak sneer but said nothing. For the next few minutes, the two men waited for the ambulance to arrive in silence, not counting Draco's sharp breathing as he painfully inhaled every breath.

Suddenly, they heard the unmistakable sound of sirens echoing throughout the once quiet neighborhood. From afar, Harry could see the bright lights and soon a few heads poked their way out of the windows stories above them.

"Is he alright? Has he lost consciousness or anything?" one of the paramedics asked as he leaned down and starts to examine Draco by checking his pulse.

"Yes, he has but then he came out of it. The bleeding hasn't stopped at all and he said that it hurts to breathe," Harry replied, watching them lifting Draco up onto the white bed which, almost immediately, turned crimson. The door of the ambulance was slammed shut and they quickly started to move in the direction of the hospital. Harry held his breath as he watched them work. One of the two then shoved an oxygen mask onto Draco's face, hoping to make it easier for him to breathe.

"How long was it since he was stabbed?" the other paramedic, a woman this time, asked. The other was pulling off Draco's shirt as well as Harry's soaked ones and throwing them onto one of the many buckets. Realizing that the question was once again directed to him, Harry glanced at his watch. To his surprise, it has only been only 10 minutes.

"10 minutes," Harry replied shortly and she nodded her head in response.

"What's his name?" she asked again but before Harry could answer the question, another beat him to it.

"Draco Malfoy," Draco croaked while pushing the oxygen mask aside but the male paramedic place it back in place.

"You need to keep it there. It'll make it easier for you to breathe," the man said and Draco complied.

"Draco is it? Are you allergic to anything, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked again but this time, Draco didn't answer. Harry knew instantly something was wrong.

"Mr. Malfoy. Can you hear me?" the female paramedics called out but still, no reply. Looking at each other, one of them began to check Draco's pulse again.

Harry felt like fainting himself as he heard the next line that the male paramedic uttered.

"We're losing him!"

* * *

Interesting… Another clifthanger… Hmm… 

Yeah, bad news though, I'm leaving for uni soon and it might be sometime before I update.

You guys do know that that is subject to change, right?

Read and Review please!


	7. Here and There, Now and Then

**Disclaimer: **Since when are they mine?

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione. (Later. _Much_ later…).

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Warning:**Seriously, you guys are really going to be really confused by the end of this chapter. Well, all of you but **Black Padfoot** that is. So, please don't ask about it, you are going to find out about it in due time.

**Note:**To **Wildflower**, sorry that I didn't add any flashbacks that I promised. Seriously, these few weeks have been crazy! I know it's not much but I PROMISE I will add in some flashbacks in the next chapter.

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_**Chapter Six**_

_-:-Here and There, Now and Then-:-_

Ron sat in front of the fireplace, hours after Harry had left their apartment. He didn't know why but he had felt somewhat uneasy since his best friend had left; he knew that whatever had happened, it was not something good. Then as if on cue; the phone rang.

"Hello?" Ron said, instinctively he knew that it was Harry on the other end.

Silence.

"Harry, are you alright?" Ron asked again, and this time, he heard a small noise and a sniff.

"Ron. Can you please come down to the Assunta Hospital as soon as possible? Hermione will know where it is." That was it. The line went dead.

"Shit!" Ron slammed down the phone and rushed towards the bedroom where Hermione was sleeping.

* * *

Draco slowly opened his eyes but quickly shut them again with a soft groan. Reaching out for the warmth that only a duvet could provide, he realized that the soft surrounding of the bed in the apartment had been replaced with something entirely unfamiliar. Opening his eyes again, slowly this time, he was greeted with the sight of a high ceiling that he was _positive_ was not a part of the architecture of the small apartment.

Ordering himself not to panic, Draco then pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around him. Almost immediately, his eyes widened as he took in his surroundings.

There was a queen size four-poster bed covered with a black duvet, curtains tied back with silver strings and two dark oak side tables at each side of the bed. Two black leather high back chairs faced the fireplace, and there was a small study in the corner filled with books he himself had picked out with his father. All of this, Draco had looked upon and lived with.

But why was he here instead of the apartment?

Draco was just about to turn around and leave the room to find someone who could give him some answers when the sight of two figures on the bed itself made him stop dead in his tracks. Inhaling sharply, he strode quickly towards the two figures and stopped at the foot of the bed.

There, lying motionless on the bed was the frail form of a familiar boy, his body covered with bruises and cuts while a healer hovered over him, all the while mumbling different spells that Draco knew by heart.

"Oh my God," Draco gasped softly as his right hand reached out to touch the boy but only to find that it passed right through him.

_'It's only a memory,'_ a part of him whispered gently.

Draco, realizing that he could play no part in the scene, stepped back a few paces from the bed. Racking his brain, he forced himself to remember what was in store for him next, but before any of the memory could surface, fate decided that it was better for him to relive it rather than to remember it.

"What happened?" the blond man asked as he burst into the room. The healer looked up in surprise, but upon recognizing the man, motioned for him to be quiet. She started to walk towards the door but the man shook his head. "Talk now but talk softly. I don't want to leave him alone for the time being."

"He was severely wounded, but nothing life threatening. He'll be fine in a few days," she said softly and the man nodded his head. He had expected it to be this way from the moment he had left the house that morning. But he could not suppress the anger that was beginning to rise in him. Dismissing the healer with a simple wave of the hand, the blond man sat himself down beside the small figure and gently took the boy's hand into his own.

Draco watched silently from across the room, his head buzzing with unanswered questions. He knew this scene, his memory had finally caught up with all the commotion; he'd lived it. He remembers all the feelings and emotions that were displayed so freely by both figures inside the room. He remembered the feeling of those gentle hands as well as those soft words that accompanied them. What he couldn't remember was what happened next.

As Draco was just about to make his way towards the two figures, another glided into the room without making so much as a whisper. Draco watched in amazement as the other being walked towards the blonde man and finally halted right behind him. It seemed that the man was so caught up in his emotions that he didn't realize the presence.

"Luc," he said as he placed a hand on the blond man's shoulder, Draco could see that the man jumped at the gesture. Swiftly, he turned around and upon realizing who it was, bowed his head slightly. Draco growled; he was all too familiar with this outward display of submission.

"My Lord," the man replied. The Dark Lord then lifted his face by placing one finger beneath the man's chin, but still, the man kept his eyes down.

"Look at me Luc and tell me what you're doing here," he said. Draco shivered in disgust at the tone used to ask the question. Slowly, the man looked up at the towering figure.

"I came for him," he answered simply, but there was an underlying hint of anxiety. All the occupants in the room knew that the man was trying to imply that he was extremely worried about the boy. Worried enough to abandon everything to come back and make sure that he was safe, all the while defying everything he was sworn to do for the Dark Lord. As expected, his master's face changed at the answer, and what was once only a gentle touch transformed into a hard grip. The man winced at the sudden pain.

"You mean to tell me that you were willing to jeopardize everything that would help me to defeat Potter, for him?" Voldemort yelled as he hit the blond man across his face. Draco's eyes widened in shock as he watched Voldermort pull out his wand, mumble _Crucio_ and immediately the blond man withered in pain at the powerful spell.

"I'm disappointed in you Luc, you should have known better than to come back here for that worthless excuse for a human being," Voldemort said softly. He did not release the blond man from the curse until, what seemed like hours later.

"I'm sorry My Lord. But I did complete your orders. They await your instructions as planned," the man said in an attempt at sounding bold, but he did not dare look up into those red eyes. Pulling himself together, he picked himself up and stood tall; ignoring the pain that Draco knew was shooting through his veins.

Voldemort looked at the blond before him without stating anything. Finally, slowly, he walked towards him and pushed a lock of silver hair back. Cupping the blonde's face, he leaned forward but stopped just inches away from his bruised lips.

"You should have known better than to come back when you were not summoned," he said softly while stroking the bruise slowly. Without a word, the blond nodded his head. "Come."

Draco then watched in horror as he watched the Dark Lord walk from the room with the blond man trailing behind him, the latter looking longingly at the boy one last time before putting his mask of indifference back on. Draco tore his eyes away and looked sideways; he need not follow the two figures. The lust filled eyes told him that nothing good could ever come from the exit.

* * *

"Harry!"

Harry looked up from the position he had been sitting in for the past hour and relief washed over him as he recognized the figures coming towards him. Standing up, he quickly pulled Hermione into a fierce hug before either could ask him what was wrong. A fresh batch of tears made their way from his eyes, as both Hermione's and Ron's voices attempted to soothe him.

"It's all my fault," he mumbled, almost incoherently, his voice muffled by Hermione's hair.

"No, it's not. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault," Ron said sternly and Harry felt Hermione nod her head while gently stroking his back. Pulling away abruptly, he shook his head violently.

"Yes it is; it's all my fault. If I hadn't left him there, none of this would ever have happened. It was just like before, Hermione. It was just like before!" Harry yelled and both Hermione and Ron watched in horror as Harry collapsed onto the floor and sobbed into his hands. Kneeling down, Ron placed his left hand onto Harry's shoulder, aware of the fact that Hermione had begun to cry too.

"Harry, mate, it's all going to be fine. Whatever it is that happened to Malfoy, we _will_ get through this. One way or another, he _will_ be alright. Okay?" Ron said firmly watching Harry intently. He was very aware of how the Gryffindor in front of him was too absorbed in guilt and self pity to pay much attention.

"I don't want him to die. Not like this," Harry whispered, finally looking up.

"No. Not like this," Ron repeated and Harry nodded his head again. Wiping his tears away, he smiled sadly at Ron and mentally pulled himself together. Accepting the offered hand, Harry pulled himself up into a standing position and brushed himself off.

"Thanks. I'm being an idiot, I know but I really couldn't help it," Harry said softly and the both of them smiled.

"It's okay. It was expected," Hermione said as she brushed the remaining tears from her eyes and laughed softly at Harry's scandalized face.

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, sadness temporarily forgotten as Ron just chuckled in amusement. Smiling slightly, Harry sat himself down on one of the many plastic chairs that were pushed against the wall, Hermione in between himself and Ron. Hermione, sensing Harry's anxiety, reached out for his left hand and squeezed it slightly. Shrugging his thanks at her, the three friends waited in silence for news regarding their fallen nemesis.

* * *

The scene changed and this time, Draco found himself standing outside a small cell, in the dungeons beneath Malfoy Manor. He looked around him as he did before, searching for anything at all to help trigger his memory. He wasn't disappointed.

"Daddy," a small voice called out from somewhere in the shadows and Draco turned around. The same boy that he had seen earlier was running towards the cell he was facing and, upon realizing that the person he was searching was in the cell in question, gripped the rusting bars that separated them.

For a moment, the blond man that was lying on the cold floor didn't move, though it was hard to tell in the dark. The boy called out to him once again and this time, Draco could see a relatively small movement coming from the blond man. After a few moments, he looked up.

"Baby," he rasped while smiling painfully at the boy. He then attempted to pull himself up slowly but fell back on to the floor once again.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" the boy asked, fear creeping into his innocent features as he watched his father struggle with every breath. The man, realizing that his son was worried about him, attempted to pick himself up and this time he succeeded. Slowly, he crawled over towards the boy and intertwined his bloody fingers with the small, child sized ones.

"Baby, listen to me. Get out of here and go hide somewhere. Don't let Him find you," the man said and watched as the boy in front of him nodded his head vigorously. The man brought their intertwined hand forward and kissed the knuckles. "Go."

"I love you, Daddy," the boy said softly and then broke into a run. Draco watched in silence as the scene unfolded in front of him, noting that the hurried footsteps of the child were getting more and more distant until finally they were gone. He then watched as the blond man smiled sadly to himself and soon, fell unconscious again.

But Draco knew that there was more to come. _'There's always more,'_ he thought to himself and sure enough, after a few moments, another set of footsteps could be heard walking towards them. He need not guess who they belonged to, he already knew.

* * *

"Mr. Potter?" a voice called out and Harry snapped back to reality. Looking up, he saw the familiar green overall first and stood up.

"Yes?" Harry replied almost calmly, but both Hermione and Ron could hear a faint trace of fear underneath it all.

"I'm Dr. Kent, Mr. Malfoy's doctor," the doctor said, Harry could only nod his head, too afraid to speak.

"How is he?" it was Hermione who asked.

"It was a close call; the theft missed his heart by an inch. However, Mr. Malfoy's left lung was severely punctured and he lost a huge amount of blood. That was why he passed out, not just because he had trouble breathing but also due to the lack of oxygen to his brain. It was a miracle that was able to stay conscious for so long before he was brought in. He is currently in ICU and in stable condition, though he is very weak," the doctor reported. Harry let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the plastic chair again.

"Will he be okay?" Harry found himself asking though his voice was quite muffled by his hands.

"It's too soon to tell," the doctor answered shortly.

"Can we see him?" Hermione asked and Harry snapped his head up.

"You can, but only one at a time. Has his family been informed of this?" the doctor asked and Harry shook his head slowly.

"There are... complications," Hermione said and the doctor nodded his head again.

"Well, it's best that you find a way to inform them of this as soon as possible, just in case anything should arise. Other than that, we'll just have to wait it out and see what happens," Dr. Kent said with a small smile.

"Yes, thank you doctor," Hermione smiled and Ron, who had been silent the whole time, just nodded his head but it was Harry who stood up and stopped the doctor before he left.

"Wait," he said and Dr. Kent looked at him curiously. "Can I talk to you in privet?"

"Of course," he replied and walked towards a corner, away from the other two who were giving Harry curious looks.

"Doctor, I need to know. Is he in any real danger at all?" Harry said quietly, looking deep into the doctor's blue eyes. The doctor sighed.

"I wasn't lying when I said that he is in a very weak state and if not for the machines, he wouldn't be able to breathe at all. When he was brought into the operating theatre, his lung actually collapsed and we were worried that we wouldn't able to save him. Thankfully, he fought and we were able to somewhat mend the punctured lung. He will be okay, if and only if he himself doesn't stop fighting." Harry nodded his head slowly.

"Why didn't you just take out the lung that was damaged? Wouldn't that be easier on him other than to make him suffer?" Harry questioned. The procedure was not unheard of, he knew as he had read about it a few years back.

"That is unnecessary as the puncture is not that big as the knife didn't penetrate through all the way. Although it is life threatening, it would be a waste to extract something that could be as good as new as long as it is given the required time to heal. It would, in fact, be easier for him with both lungs rather than one in the long run because he, judging by his physical form, seems to be some sort of an athlete. Am I correct?" the doctor explained.

"I see. And yes, he is an athlete. Thank you, doctor, for everything," he replied with a small smile.

"It's no trouble. He's in room 317 on the 17th floor," the doctor replied before walking away. Harry, refusing to think of the irony of the numbers of both the room and the floor level, turned around and walked back towards his friends.

"He's in room 317 on the 17th floor," Harry said without explaining himself. The other two looked at each other briefly, nodded their heads and walked towards the elevator at the end of the hallway.

* * *

Draco leaned back against the cold, damp wall of the dungeon, waiting. The soft clicking of boots against the floor was the only thing that could be heard and he just watched as a figure emerged from a door. Although he had seen the figure many times before, Draco couldn't suppress the slight tremor that ran down his spine as he gazed into the bloodshot eyes of the Dark Lord.

As the Dark Lord walked towards the fallen blonde at the edge of the rusty bars of the cell, the other conscious figure in the room noted that, although Voldemort's movements were calm and collected, the look in his eyes stated otherwise. He need not be Dumbledore at this point to know that the blonde figure in the room was in for a very painful experience.

A few inches from the bars, Voldemort stopped and gazed down coldly. Only after a few minutes of watching, he finally kicked the bars swiftly and walked into the blood stained cell, walking around the almost lifeless body. Pointing his wand towards him, Draco could hear the faint mumbling of a charm and soon, a low, painful moan could be heard echoing around the once silence dungeon.

"Get up," the Dark Lord growled and the blonde obeyed although Draco could see blood oozing out from where a deep cut was slashed across his pale chest. Slowly, with unsteady legs, the blonde lifted himself up but before he could stand, he was thrown towards the back wall of the cell. He let out a strangled cry and struggled weakly against an invisible cord that held him tightly against the wall.

"Where is he?" Voldemort demanded roughly while pointing his wand towards the blonde again but the man refused to reply. "Answer me!"

"No," the blonde replied softly while looking straight into those eyes with a determined look on his face.

"Tell me where he is! You told him to hide from me and he is doing a very good job. Tell me where is he hiding or when I do find him, he will be the first one I kill. Right. In. Front. Of. You."

"Threaten me all you want but I know that you need him to bring down Potter. Without him, you're nothing," the blonde replied with a smirk but seconds later, he was thrown right across the room where his head hit the rusty bars and the binds that held him in place was broken. Draco winced as he watched a new cut split open, marinating the blond hair with crimson liquid as the blonde slumped onto the blood soaked floor.

"He is better off dead at this point; you have too much control over the boy! At this rate, he would no longer be of any use to me, and since he has the potential of being stronger than that Potter, he must be killed. It's up to you Luc, he can either be alive under my control, or dead under yours," Voldemort said and sneered as he watched the blonde man's eyes widen at his words.

"You wouldn't," he whispered.

"Try me."

"You would only hurt him!"

"Hurt him, yes but I wouldn't kill him. He will be strong and only then will he be of some use to me. Now tell me where he is!" Voldemort yelled as he flung the blonde across the room once again with a flick of his wand.

"Over my dead body," the blond spat.

"As you wish," the Dark Lord replied and raised his wand for the last time at the blond. He was about to say those two words when the boy came out of nowhere and ran towards his father.

"No!" he yelled as he flung his small body in front of that of his father's.

"I told you to hide," the blonde man scolded the boy as he felt the boy's grip tighten around his neck.

"He's hurting you. I hate him," the boy sobbed against his father as he stroked the boy's back soothingly, the Dark Lord forgotten for a moment.

"It doesn't matter. You're safe," the man replied as he kissed the top of the boy's head reassuringly.

"Isn't this convenient," Voldemort said as he watched the two figures embrace. Draco could see the boy's body stiffen from his position a short distance away.

"You will never hurt him," the man snarled as he wrapped his arms tighter around the small frame of his son.

"Like I said before, you have too much control over the boy and he will never function as I want him to. So, I'm going to take the easy way out this time. _Avada Kedavra._"

Draco watched as the killing curse was thrown at the two frozen figures and he panicked. For once in his life, he threw caution out the window and before he knew what was happening, he threw himself in the path of the green light and it hit him square in the chest. The last thing he saw was the haunted look in the eyes of the small boy clutching tightly to his father's neck before darkness consumed him completely.

* * *

Harry stared down at his feet as the three of them waited for the elevator to reach their floor, both of his hands jammed into the side pockets of his baggy jeans. Whatever was happening around him, he ignored, totally lost in his own world. So deep he was in his thoughts that he jumped slightly when he felt a gentle hand touch him on the shoulder.

"Harry, we're here," Hermione said softly and Harry looked up at the beige wooden door of room 317, not even remembering leaving the elevator.

"Are you okay mate?" he heard Ron ask him, somewhere to his right.

"I don't know if I can do this," Harry heard himself as he leaned against the wall to the left of the door and closed his eyes tight. All the panic was coming back to him, full force, and suddenly, Harry felt as if he couldn't even stand due to the sudden rush of emotions.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Ron said and Harry cracked open an eye. He smiled inwardly, he knew how much Ron hated Draco and he knew that Ron hated it even more when they were dealing with him physically. Especially when Harry was involved, directly or otherwise. And for that, he was forever grateful.

"Thanks Ron but I need to do this. Alone. In a way, it is my fault," Harry said, whispering out the last part.

Ron, knowing it was always a lost cause when dealing with one emotional Harry Potter, just nodded and stepped aside towards Hermione.

"We're here if you need us," Hermione said and Harry just smiled his thanks at her. Taking a deep breath, Harry twisted the doorknob, pushed open the door and stepped inside the slightly darkened room.

* * *

"Hermione, what are we going to do?" Ron asked in desperate moan as he watched the door close behind Harry's lean form. Smiling slightly, she pulled him into a gentle hug.

"We will do what we always do, just stand by him and help him when he needs help. There's no other way around it," she answered, letting him pull out from her arms and walked towards the door.

"I don't think I can do that this time. I did what you told me to do; I kept calm when we found out that Harry's partner was Malfoy. Now I realize that there is no way in hell that those two will be able to stay safe with the other one hovering near then 24/7, let it be Harry or Malfoy," Ron said softly after a small eternity. Hermione said nothing, letting him talk and get whatever it was that was bothering him off his chest.

"But thinking back, I know why they were paired up together and I know that they need to get over that animosity between each other before we leave Hogwarts. Thinking back, I know that whatever it is that they're facing, it's not just a matter of history, it's the matter of the heart. Whatever it is, they need to figure it out," he continued and finally, turned around to face Hermione.

"Ron, what are you talking about? Is there something I should know?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious but not surprised. There was something about his tone that suggested that whatever it was, it was nothing bad.

"Since that night when we helped Harry defeat Voldemort, I felt something and before, I wasn't sure what it was exactly. I thought it was nothing and I thought it would pass but it only continues to grow. Did you ever wonder, Hermione, why is it that I never actually throw tantrums when Harry did something without telling us first or kept something from us?" he asked back, a small smile on his face. Thinking back, Hermione then nodded her head slowly.

"The thought has crossed my mind a few times over the last year but I never actually thought about it much, thinking that you would at least tell me if there was something wrong. But now that you mention it..." she said and looked up into his eyes. To her surprise, she saw something in them that she had failed to notice before.

"Yeah, you're right. You didn't know about it because I didn't tell you. I didn't tell Harry either, even though he has a right to know," Ron said finally as he slid down onto the floor beside the door, Hermione following suit almost immediately.

"Ron, what is it?" she asked.

"Do you remember, that summer when both you and Harry came over to my house and stayed there until the start of our sixth year?" Ron said softly while looking away from her eyes.

"Yes. It was an... interesting summer. It was when you discovered that your gift of divination," Hermione continued while nodding her head slowly.

"Yeah, that's the one. Right after we reached Hogwarts, Dumbledore summoned me after the feast without you or Harry."

"That's right. But then just before we could ask you what was going on, Snape called Harry over and McGonagall called me. We never talked about that night," Hermione continued and Ron nodded his head.

"We never talked about it because we weren't supposed to. That night, Dumbledore told me that I needed to go into training, that I could be some sort of an asset to the light side with my ability. I never thought much about it then, partly because I was eager to help Harry in any way I can. So I accepted," he said.

"I started training the following day. The two of you never asked me what I was doing and I knew it was because we were all busy with something that we are not allowed to talk about. We trust each other and so we lived our lives as usual without questioning one another." At this point, Hermione had reached out and grasped Ron's left hand into her own and squeezed it gently. He acknowledged her with a small smile.

"What happened?" she probed gently.

"It was shocking, to say the least. I was taught by Dumbledore himself and we got down to the basics on the first night. That was when I found out that whatever it was that fate has in store for us, our lives will always be linked," Ron said.

"Ron, you're not making sense," Hermione said and Ron turned to look at her.

"There's this link between the three of us and although you don't know about it, I can tell that something was about to happen or has happened to you. A hunch you might call it and usually, I can tell when either one of you is up to something though I can't tell exactly what is it. It's all complicated; I can't explain it any other way than I am now," he said.

"I think I understand, in one way or another. But what is it? Something went wrong," she said.

"Not wrong exactly, just weird. Lately, it seems as if I can't tell what it is that's gonna happen to him anymore. Oh no, don't get me wrong. I can tell when he's in trouble. It's just that I can only tell when he's in trouble and nothing else. It is as if something is cutting me off from him and I don't know what," Ron said.

"I can't tell you what to do Ron because I don't even know what it is that you're going through. Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore about this," she stated cautiously but before Ron could reply, he felt a small tremor pass over the both of them and he turned to look at Hermione.

"Do you feel that?" he asked and she nodded her head vigorously. Her eyes widened slightly as realization dawned on her. Immediately fearing for the safety of their friend, the two of them shot up and barged into the darkened room, when almost simultaneously, a loud sound could be heard coming from inside.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as she saw him sitting on the chair beside the blonde Slytherin, his gaze unfaltering at the sudden noise, but before she could reach him, she was pushed aside by numerous nurses and doctors who were rushing to get to the blonde's side.

"Status?" one of the doctor's cried out as he began to examine Draco.

"His lung has collapsed again. His heart rate has dropped," replied one of the nurses she read the information on the small monitor by the bedside.

"What is he still doing here? Get him out!" another doctor yelled, indicating Harry, as he began to tear Draco's overall off.

"Sir, you need to move aside. We're trying to help him," the same nurse said impatiently but before any one of them could usher them out, a soft glow could be seen developing around the both Harry and Draco.

"What the hell is that!" one of the blonde doctors cried out and at this point, Hermione shot forward and pushed the doctors aside.

"Get back! Don't touch them!" Hermione yelled as she noticed the light surrounding the two of them becoming more and more obvious, even to the medical staff that had failed to notice it earlier.

"He's dying! We can't just sit back and do nothing!" cried one of the doctors that came in when the alarm went off, Ron glared at him.

"Trust Harry on this, he knows what he's doing," Ron stated calmly and Hermione, who was at his side, nodded her head.

Having no other choice, the other of the occupants of the room could only stand back and watch as a white aura surrounding the two boys got brighter and brighter until finally, it enveloped the two boys completely; one whose life was hanging by a thread while another tried to give life to the other.

* * *

Draco felt himself falling and for once, he let himself fall. Fighting was the last thing on his mind as he slowly shut his eyes and ignored every voice that was going on inside his head, telling him to fight. A single, lone tear fell from the corner of his eyes and slide down to his cheek.

_**Draco...**_

_'Go away. I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to live,'_ Draco thought to himself as a soft voice penetrated through the many voices.

_**You can't give up now. What about everything that you've ever fought for?**_

_'What things? I've got nothing left to loose. Nothing.'_

_**What about Adrian?**_

At that statement, Draco's eyes snapped open. To his surprise, he found himself sitting on a bench in a beautiful garden, facing a lake. Glancing to his side, he found himself starring at a pair of sad emerald eyes.

"You," he said softly and the person smiled tenderly back at him.

"Me," he answered back without any hint of surprise. Draco just stared back at him in shock. Not knowing what else to do; Draco tore his eyes away and looked around him.

"What am I doing here?" Draco asked again although a part of him already knew the answer.

"You are here because it is not your time yet. Why do you want to die, Draco?" the figure asked and Draco let out a bark-like laughter.

"So it's Draco now, is it?" he asked and eyed the figure sadly.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant for any of this to turn out the way it did," the figure replied gently and Draco pushed himself up from the bench, walking towards the lake they were facing.

"Nobody ever does," he replied quietly as he hugged himself tight and shivered as a cold breeze blew towards him from the north-west. He then felt rather than heard the figure walk silently behind him and soon, another pair of arms was placed above his from behind.

"I missed you," the figure mumbled against his back and Draco couldn't help but smile sadly at this.

"Not as much as I missed you," Draco replied.

"I don't want you to leave me again," the figure said. Draco's breath hitched as he felt something wet fell against his back. Turning around slowly, Draco lifted up the figure's face to look up at him. He gently wiped the tears that were falling from those emerald eyes.

"But you're going to ask me to do the exact opposite of that anyway, aren't you? That's why you're here," Draco said and after a short pause, the figure nodded.

"That's why I'm here," the figure repeated the last line and smiled up at Draco sadly. Smiling back, Draco slowly leaned forward and delicately pressed his lips onto the figure's forehead. He started to feel the world around him slowly fade away and he knew that he was being pulled back into the harsh world of reality.

"You've grown," Draco said at last before he felt the darkness consume him. The last thing he saw was the figure smile.

"Adrian would want you to live," the figure said for the final time as Draco slowly eased back into consciousness with a small smile on his face.

* * *

"He's breathing," the blond doctor exclaimed as the line on the monitor started to rise upwards once again, but before any of them could breathe a sigh of relief, Harry, who had been sitting beside the blond all this time, collapsed and almost fell onto the floor.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as Ron rushed forward, just in time to catch him before he hit the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" the doctor asked stupidly. Ron turned almost as red as his hair.

"Are you that daft? You're the healer here, you tell us!" Ron yelled as he pulled Harry into his arms and glared at the doctor.

"You bloody idiot! There could be something seriously wrong with him and you're telling me that you don't know what's wrong with him? What kind of a healer are you! You better take a look at him before I do something that I _might_ regret," Ron said softly, almost dangerously and the doctor visibly gulped.

"Put him on the bed next to Mr. Malfoy's. I'll see what I can do," he said while motioning to the empty bed next to the one Draco was occupying. Ron walked towards it in long strides and placed Harry's motionless body gently onto the bed. Refusing to leave the room, Ron watched as the doctor hovered over Harry, trying to determine what was wrong with the Gryffindor while Hermione watched from behind.

"There's nothing wrong with him that sleep won't cure. He's thoroughly exhausted; his energy level is too low. He just needs a good night's sleep," the doctor said after a few minutes. The red head just nodded, satisfied at the answer and picked Harry up again. He then walked out from the room and was about to exit the hospital when Hermione placed her hand on his arm.

"We can't leave," she stated softly and Ron looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"Hermione, are you crazy? You heard the healer; he needs a good night sleep. He's exhausted," Ron said slowly as if talking to a child and Hermione shook her head.

"I know but we can't leave Malfoy here all alone, especially not now. I know Harry wouldn't want to," Hermione said gently.

"Harry doesn't care about that stupid ferret and neither do I. So, I don't really see the point to this conversation," Ron said stubbornly.

"Ron please be reasonable. Let's just stay here for the night, okay," Hermione said again and after awhile, Ron nodded his head reluctantly. Hermione smiled and lead him to an empty sofa in the waiting room. Sitting down, Hermione then motioned for him to place Harry down with his head on her lap while Ron sat next to her.

That was how they sat for hours into the night.

* * *

Harry slowly opened his eyes but almost instantly shut them again with a groan. Throwing his left arm over his face, Harry realized that for the first time in a long while, he had slept with his glasses on. Sighing, he reached for the glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Hey sleepy head," a soft voice said, breaking his silent moment. Harry once again opened his eyes, at a much slower pace than before and was greeted by the face of one Hermione Granger.

"Hey," Harry relied softly. Looking up, he was surprised to find himself lying on her lap instead of sitting on a chair like he remembered.

"You collapsed right after Malfoy started breathing. Ron was so worried, he yelled at the doctor and demanded that they see to you," Hermione said, answering his unsaid question. Harry looked around him. He saw Ron's sleeping figure next to Hermione on the sofa, his head on her shoulder. Harry smiled at the sight before him but then he frowned.

"Hermione, can you keep a secret?" he asked softly, looking straight into her cinnamon eyes.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked back, her voice laced with worry and fear for him. Harry sat up suddenly and turned to look at her once more.

"I need you to swear, Hermione. That you wouldn't tell _anyone_. Not even Ron. He would never understand," Harry whispered with urgency, all the while, pleading with his eyes. Hermione, after considering it for a few moments, nodded her head slowly.

Harry then gave her a small smile and turned around, facing away from her. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that Ron was still asleep, Harry tugged the collar of his shirt aside, exposing his left shoulder to her. He wondered whether or not she had seen it but the quiet gasp that came from her confirmed his doubts.

"I take it you understand what it means then," Harry said and before Harry could register anything, Hermione pulled him into a tight hug which caused Ron's head to fall onto her lap. Thankfully, he did not wake.

"He's not going to like it when he finds out." Hermione replied.

Harry pulled back and proceeded to stared at the door of Draco's room. Smiling slightly to himself, he nodded slowly.

"I know."

* * *

Alright, I confess, I wasn't going to leave you guys hanging like that. Besides, I thought that it was quite obvious that he is going to survive anyway. I wouldn't have a story if he ends up dead now, would I? lol.

Anyway, just to let you know, it might be some time before I update. I mean I'm leaving for University tomorrow and I haven't even started packing! But I did leave you guys with an extra long chapter so that has got to count for something, right?

Oh, guess what? I got my first flame! Well, it was a flame in my opinion but that might just be my insecurities talking. To **the counter**, you asked me what makes me think my story is worth reading. Let me ask you one thing in return; how can you say that since you only read the _first _chapter? I mean, I admit that the first three chapters aren't that special but after that, I personally think it's rather good. I mean, if somebody else actually writes a story based on the same concept, I'd be one of their faithful readers. So, really, you shouldn't judge a story based on the first few chapter because it is only the platform in which the story is about to be built on so it has to be sturdy and a few things have to be made clear. I just want to make sure I have everything covered before moving on so that I would not have to cover up some stupid hole that I myself made because of my lack of planning!

Huh, yeah. Sorry for those of you who have to read that but seriously, I do NOT like flames. I mean, I'm sorry but I was really considering to stop writing because of it…

Oh, one more thing, I am however going to give out a treat for my 100th reviewer in the form of _information_ that is going to clear up some stuff. Well, not all but it will answer one of the questions you guys are probably asking yourselves.

_Who the heck is Adrian?_

Hmmm…. So, if you guys wanna know, I suggest you review.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review on your way out.


	8. Interlude: Explanation Galore

**Disclaimer: **Sweet dreams are when Harry and Draco are mine. And since I kept having nightmares all year long, I guess that means that **they are not mine!**

**Parings: **Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…).

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together in without magic for two months. Will they survive each others wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Status:**Half betaed, half not betaed (don't ask), edited.

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_Chapter 7_

_Interlude: Explanation Galore_

"Here," Ron said softly as he handed Harry a cup of steaming hot chocolate and then proceeded to sit himself next to his friend. Harry just smiled in return and slowly took a sip of the drink.

"You and Hermione really need to get back to your apartment. It's been a long day," Harry said after a pregnant pause in which he watched Hermione shift uncomfortably on one of the chairs in the corner of the dark room and then sleep on peacefully. Ron just frowned in response.

"I'm not leaving you here alone, if that's what you're implying," Ron stated firmly and Harry just smiled at the tone of his voice.

"I'll be fine. You should take her home. The both of you are clearly exhausted and it's nearly morning. You really should get going," Harry replied and shook his head with a small smile on his face whilst Ron shook his head stubbornly.

"But Harry, what if you collapse again like you did earlier?" He reasoned, making the Gryffindor seeker scowl slightly.

"I had my nap, I'll be okay. Besides, there's an extra bed next to Malfoy if I have the sudden urge to collapse again. And this time, I promise I won't wait until I fall off a chair before I sleep," Harry chuckled at Ron's horrified face.

"That's not funny and you know it," Ron said.

"I know, don't worry about it so much okay? Besides, I need you to do something for me," Harry said as he stretched out on the chair, holding the hot beverage cautiously with his left hand. Ron looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I need you to contact Dumbledore and tell him what happened. I can't do it very well here now, can I? The Malfoys need to know about their son Ron, and I can't leave him alone again," Harry explained carefully, but Ron still caught the emotions Harry had been trying to hide from his voice.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Ron asked, his voice a bit hesitant, Harry nodded his head.

"I'll be fine, mate. If there's anything at all, I'll call you," Harry confirmed. After thinking it over for the next few minutes, Ron finally nodded his head with a small sigh.

"You'd better," Ron mumbled with a weak glare as he pushed himself up and walked towards where Hermione was sleeping. Gently, he shook her shoulder.

"Hermione, wake up," he called out until Hermione groaned softly.

"What? Ron? What's wrong?" She asked sleepily.

"C'mon, wake up. We have to get going," Ron explained, stepping back so she could sit up and stretch her stiff body.

"What are you talking about, Ron? We can't leave Harry here alone. What if he collapses again?" Hermione asked now fully awake. At this, Ron looked guiltily away. Seeing his face, Harry sighed softly, pushed himself up and walked towards her.

"I'll be fine, stop worrying. I need to stay here and keep an eye on him. Besides, I need the both of you to call Dumbledore and explain to him what happened," Harry said, but as expected, Hermione was a little bit harder to convince than Ron.

"No Harry, we can't leave you here alone. It's just –"

"Hermione, please. I refuse to pull you two along for the ride especially since you have nothing to do with it. Both of you have helped me enough just by being there for me every step of the way. Now I'm asking you to please go home and get yourselves some rest. You both need it more than I do," Harry said as he reached for Hermione's hand and squeezing it slightly.

"What are you talking about? You need the rest more than the both of us," Ron piped up before Hermione could protest. Harry shot him a 'you're-not-helping' look, Ron at least had the good grace to blush.

"He's right, Harry. You do need to rest more than us," Hermione replied and Harry smiled slightly.

"I'm okay. Besides, I need to stay here. It comes with the whole responsibility of being his housemate. I can't leave," Harry explained softly, looking straight at her. She would _have_ to understand, there was no other way around it. Finally, after seeing the desperation in his eyes, Hermione understood. Slowly, she nodded her head.

"Okay, we'll leave. But if anything, _anything_ at all happens, call us _immediately_, okay?" Hermione said. With a small smile, Harry nodded his head and pulled her into a brief hug with a faint whisper of 'thank you'.

Harry led them both towards the door and held it open for them. Ron gave him a small smile and Harry returned it. As he watched his best friends leave with their backs turned towards him, but when both of them turned back and offered him a small smile and a wave goodbye, he could help but feel an undying gratitude for their love. Not for each other, as he was certain that Hermione is still in love with Severus, but for him.

And for that, he smiled warmly to himself as he shut the door behind him.

* * *

"Mister Weasley, Miss Granger. Might I ask what brings you here this morning?" Professor McGonagall asked as she looked at the two students who were sitting opposite her; one fidgeting while the latter looked anxious. She was not quite surprise to see Hermione's head in her fireplace first thing in the morning; she was almost expecting something to happen on the first weekend her Gryffindors are away. Immediately, she asked them to floo to Hogwarts, after she allowed temporary connection for the both of them to step through.

"Professor, we need to see Professor Dumbledore as soon as possible. I'm afraid something… unexpected occurred last night," Hermione said calmly, though the slight tremor hidden behind her voice gave her away. Looking from one student to the other, Minerva knew that something bad had happened last night and she should be worried. _Very_ worried.

"And what does this concern?" she asked again. _'Do I really want to know?'_ she added mentally and judging by the looks on their faces, she didn't think so.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other briefly at the question asked. Hermione, being the calmer one, turned back to the Professor and said "It's about Harry and Malfoy, Professor."

If Professor McGonagall was shocked, she didn't show it. Instead, she just pushed herself up and with a sharp 'follow me', led them both down a familiar hallway, towards the statue of the entrance into Dumbledore's office.

"Strawberry shortcakes," she called out and almost immediately, the two gargoyles that were guarding the entrance sprung apart to reveal the famous moving stairway to the Headmaster's office.

As soon as they reached the top, Professor McGonagall knocked twice and the door swung open. The three were greeted with the sight of a smiling Dumbledore.

"Ah, Minerva. Master Weasley and Miss Granger too? Please, do come in. To what do I owe the honor?" Dumbledore asked as he motioned the three of them to take a seat.

"Well Albus, it seems as if something happened last night involving Potter and Malfoy," Minerva began after taking the seat nearest to the Headmaster.

"Really? Would either of you care to explain?" asked Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes seeming to dim slightly at the news.

"Well, to make a long story short sir, it seems that Malfoy was attacked late last night. He was stabbed by someone who was trying to steal his money and the wound is rather close to his heart. The doctor said that his left lung was punctured as a result of the stab. He is currently in the ICU in Assunta Hospital," Hermione explained briefly.

"We were there with Harry when Malfoy was admitted into the hospital but Harry asked us to leave so that we could contact you right away. He told us to inform you about Malfoy's condition and to take the necessary actions," Ron continued and Dumbledore nodded his head slightly.

"Albus, this is terrible news. We need to inform the Malfoys right away," Minerva said, obviously shocked to hear the rest of the story.

"Yes, we must," Dumbledore said and walked over towards the fireplace at the far corner of the room. Throwing in a handful of floo powder that he obtained from above the fireplace, he then called out the Malfoys.

It took a few minutes but eventually, the Senior Malfoy finally decided to make an appearance.

"Dumbledore," he said and Ron could felt Hermione shivered at the tone used. Instinctively, he reached over and squeezed her hand slightly.

"Lucius, good afternoon. I am sorry to interrupt but I have an urgent matter that I must insist you and your wife attend to. Might I enquire whether or not the both of you are free at the present time?" Dumbledore stated and after a moment, Lucius simply nodded his head.

"What, may I ask, is so urgent?" Lucius asked.

"This concerns your son, Lucius," Dumbledore said shortly. However, the older Malfoy did not show any outward display of emotion.

"Very well. Please, step aside. I will be arriving presently," Lucius replied and after a simple nod from the headmaster, he was gone. Dumbledore then sat back down and the four of them waited in silence. Shortly after, Lucius Malfoy stepped through the fireplace.

"My apologies; my wife will not be able to attend this meeting. Now, what news about Draco that you feel so urgent for me to attend to?" Lucius asked as soon as he sat himself down at the offered chair beside McGonagall, the infamous Malfoy mask in place perfectly.

"It seems as if he had a little accident late last night," Dumbledore said shortly.

"And why weren't we informed of this as soon as it occurred last night?" Lucius glared, a spark of anger could be seen flashing from his eyes but it disappeared as soon as it arrived.

"We couldn't. There was no fireplace or owl present at the time and we've only told Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall just now," Hermione replied.

"I don't remembering asking you the question," Lucius snapped. The lack of insult in the sentence surprised both Ron and Hermione and they glanced at each other for an instant.

"Please, Lucius, she was merely stating her justification for the problem at hand," Dumbledore stepped in whilst holding his right hand up as if to silence him.

"Where is he?" Lucius asked again, refusing to acknowledge what Dumbledore had said in defense for the girl.

"He is currently in the Assunta Hospital, having being admitted there late last night after the incident occurred," the Headmaster replied.

"What is he doing in a muggle hospital? I demand that he is relocated to a private _wizard_ hospital where he will be treated with the best healer in the country," Lucius exclaimed with a voice filled with rage, shocking all occupants of the room excluding Dumbledore with his sudden outburst for a simple reason that Malfoys are not capable of showing _any_ emotions at all.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to do that," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Would you care to explain why you are denying me the right to take Draco away from his current location so that I can provide a better treatment for my son?" Lucius asked calmly but with a cold, detached voice.

"There are actually two reasons as to why I am not allowing you to do so, Lucius. One is because he is currently carrying out a very important project which will determine his grade for NEWTs that he is sitting for this year," Dumbledore stated and Lucius smirked.

"If you are suggesting that I will accept that reason, Dumbledore than you are sadly mistaken. I realized that I might have pushed Draco to strive his best in class for the past six years but surely even you realize that my son's wellbeing is more important than his grades," he sneered.

"Of course, I understand. The second reason, however, is not as simple as the first. This reason is based on a muggle theory that has –"

"A _muggle_ theory! Whatever it is, I refuse to acknowledge it. I refuse to believe that those idiots have somehow created a theory that have some sort of an effect on my son," Lucius snapped and was about to leave when Hermione sprung up from her seat only to glare at the elder Malfoy.

"Mister Malfoy, I realize that you do not think highly of muggles but this is something that even you have no power over. This theory is the only thing standing in between your son and his death so, by all means, please sit down and at least listen to the reasons behind the explanation. If not for the sake of yourself, at least do it for your son," she said in a low voice while staring down the senior Malfoy. After a short glaring competition, Lucius nodded his head once and sat back down, Hermione following suit shortly after. Ron saw her visibly shake, whether it was out of anger or anxiousness, he could not tell. Throwing her a small smile, they both turned their attention back to the Headmaster.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. Now, as I was saying, the whole thing is based on the theory regarding the atoms and molecules found in the chemicals used to heal Draco the muggle way," Dumbledore said.

"What?" Ron asked dumbly and Hermione smiled slightly.

"Well, I only did a bit of light reading on this but if I'm not mistaken the atoms and molecules are the building block of the compounds in the chemical used. Chemicals are like potions only they don't have any magical properties. Am I right Professor?" Hermione explained simply.

"Correct, Miss Granger," Dumbledore beamed as he nodded his head at her answer.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" surprisingly, Minerva asked.

"Well, the atoms and molecules in the chemicals are 'tied' together by a force called a bond. This bond, to make a complicated story short, can be broken if a certain amount of energy is acted upon it," he continued. He paused for a while and when there weren't any questions, he continued.

"Our magic can be classified as energy. When our magic is forced onto the bond, it is possible that the energy given is strong enough to break the bond between the chemicals and it is also possible a new chemical or gas can be formed. The gasses especially can be poisonous to Draco and might kill him in the end," he explained.

"So you mean to tell me that Draco has to heal naturally without the aid of any magic at all?" Lucius asked at the end of Dumbledore's explanation.

"Not exactly, no. If he stops using the medication that the muggles have supplied him with, then he can be healed using magic in two weeks time. The chemicals will be neutralized by then," Dumbledore answered.

"You cannot expect me to sit back and watch him suffer for the next two weeks? He has to have some sort of a numbing spell or potion so that the pain will be tolerable," Lucius said and Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment.

"There are some potions that he can consume that will not interfere or interact with the chemicals in his body. I will need to consult our Potion Master for a more detailed list but I will inform you right away," Dumbledore replied. After a short pause, the senior Malfoy nodded his head once and stood up.

"If that is all, I will take my leave. I expect the list to be owled to me as soon as possible," Lucius said. He walked towards the fireplace but hesitated in throwing the floo powder to the burning fire.

"Where is he?" he asked without turning back to look at them.

"Assunta Hospital, room 317 at the 17th floor," Hermione answered and with a short nod, he flooed back to the Malfoy Manor without another word.

"That went well," Minerva said after the elder Malfoy left.

"Yes indeed. Now, I believe the both of you have some exploring to do back in Notting Hill?" Dumbledore asked; the twinkle back in place. Nodding their heads, both Ron and Hermione sprang to their feet and left the office.

"I am off for awhile, Minerva. I trust that everything will be fine under your care?" he stated and Professor McGonagall nodded her head once. Standing up, she couldn't help but voiced out the last question that has been nagging at the back of her mind.

"What are you going to do about those two, Albus?" Minerva asked with a worried gaze as she watched the twinkle grow steadily brighter, as if she was missing in on some sort of a plan.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll manage to come up with something," he said vaguely and watched as she left her office too.

* * *

"Why is he like that?" Harry yelled as he burst into the room while slamming the door shut behind him. "I mean, does he enjoys tormenting people or is it just me?"

Severus Snape, who was grading the fifth year Gryffindor Potion assignment when the Seeker entered the room, calmly placed his quill down and looked up. Silently, he watched as one furious Harry Potter paced in front of his slightly raised table, mumbling under his breath about some 'spoil rich kid'.

"I'm assuming that you are here about the detention you've gotten because of a fight between yourself and Mister Malfoy, yesterday?" he asked smoothly, his usual sneer missing from his voice.

"What else? That bastard had the decency of giving me detention when he was the one who landed the first blow," Harry snapped, still pacing.

"What happened?"

"I was on my way to Transfiguration with Ron and we were analyzing the fraud information we got earlier that same day quietly between the two of us when then suddenly, that git grabbed be from behind and punched Ron. I was angry at him so I punched him back. Then he gave me detention for harassing a fellow student and then just walked off!" Harry bellowed as he slammed his fist at the empty workstation. Severus just raised an eyebrow at the action but didn't comment.

"And what, pray tell, were you thinking talking about the Dark Lord's activities in the broad daylight, Mister Potter?" Severus questioned and Harry paused from his pacing to look at the Potion Master.

"We were talking in codes; nobody would have understood," Harry replied and Severus then leaned back against the wall behind him.

"Apparently he did. What was Mister Weasley saying to you before Mister Malfoy punched him?" Severus asked again, threading his fingers in front of him. Harry thought back to the fight that occurred a few hours ago and frowned.

"He said that whoever it was that gave us the information regarding the ambush at Diagon Alley must have his knickers in a twist since the information is obviously wrong," Harry muttered and Severus sighed, finally understanding the situation.

"Harry, do you have any idea where the Headmaster is right now?" Severus asked again and at this Harry shook his head slightly. "He is currently at the Ministry, sorting out the attack against Diagon Alley that happened less than an hour ago."

Harry, who had been standing in front of the Potion Master, collapsed onto his knees, staring disbelieve at him.

"You mean -"

"Yes, Harry. It seams that the information was true after all. There was just a slight change in the time as something… unexpected occurred," Severus explained and Harry looked confused.

"How bad was it?" Harry whispered.

"Not too bad. The aurors got there just in time," Severus replied.

"Even so, he still has to right at all to do that," Harry said, crossing his arm across his chest.

"Did you even realize who it was that gave the information in the first place?" Severus questioned and once again, Harry shook his head. "Next time, Potter, please get your fact straighten out before you make a fool out of yourself."

"Don't tell me that Malfoy had suddenly become all noble and decided to spy for us and got touchy when I criticized his work," Harry injected and Severus sighed as he leaned forward. Grabbing his wand, he then waved it slightly and a stool sprung out from under the workstation to Harry's side. He then motion Harry to take a seat on the stool.

"It was me who gave the information to the Headmaster," Severus said after Harry had made himself comfortable on the wooden stool. It was then Harry remembered that Severus was a spy amongst Voldemort inner circle.

"I forgot that fact. But then again, Ron doesn't know (1) and that stupid git came out of nowhere and punched the daylight out of him," Harry shrugged.

"Do you know why?"

Severus eyed the young man in front of him critically; he knew that he would figure it out by himself; given the appropriate push in the right direction.

"He knows?" Harry breathed with wide eyes. It was then that Severus smiled at him.

"Draco and I are close. He knows," Severus confirmed and Harry leapt out from his seat.

"How can he know; his father is the right hand man of Voldemort! That secret is not safe with him! What were you thinking, Sev; he could rat you out at any given moment!" Harry exploded.

"Harry, he is trustworthy. I have known him longer than you have and things are not always as it seems," Severus replied calmly.

"Don't give me that crap! And stop talking like Dumbledore while you're at it!" Harry snapped and Severus smirked.

Harry sighed as he gathered up his thought and faced away from the professor. He couldn't bare the thought that this one will be taken away from him too; he was right up there with his real father as well as Sirius and Remus on the list of his appointed fathers. Without realizing it, all the anger he was feeling towards the blonde morphed into sadness as tears started falling from his eyes.

"He can't know; you'll be discovered. I can't let that happen, Sev. I just can't," he sobbed.

Severus, now used to the mood swings, stepped down from the platform that held his table and exhaled softly. Moving forward, he then pulled the crying hero into his embrace and gently hushed him.

"Everything is going to be alright. One way or another, everything is going to be fine," he said softly, cradling the torn Gryffindor close.

Silently, he prayed that everything _will_ be alright in the end.

* * *

"You lied," Harry whispered to himself as the flashback resurfaced with full vengeance. "Everything is a mess and you're not here. You lied to me."

But, as he stared out at the clear sky above him, he knew that Severus was not the person to be blame for the outcome of the war. Tracing the outer line of a stray cloud against the glass of the window, he sighed softly.

A sharp cry from the other side of the room brought him back into the realm of the living with a jolt as he frantically looked around him to find the source of the distress. Seeing the cause of the sound, Harry eyes widened and he quickly pushed himself up from the spare bed in the small room and darted towards the other occupant.

"Malfoy, stop struggling! You'll only making it worse," Harry cried out as he pushed the struggling blonde firmly onto the bed.

"I can't breathe, idiot!" Draco choked as he tried to pull away the tube that was inserted into his mouth while Harry swatted his hands away.

"Listen to me, you need to calm down. I know it must be hard to breathe but it will get worst if you don't sit still," Harry reasoned with him and after a few glares directed towards the Gryffindor seeker, Draco finally stopped struggling. Harry then watched as the blonde slowly began to inhale deeply and then exhaled; the fear that unconsciously gripped his heart when he found the blonde to be in some sort of a distress lessened considerately.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence as he moved away from the bed slightly. Only when he received a sharp glare from the blonde did he realize the situation the other boy was in.

"Erm, sorry 'bout that. I kinda forgot about that tube down your throat. I'll go get the nurse," Harry mumbled slightly and then quickly shuffled out of the slightly gloomy room.

A few minutes later, he returned with what Draco thought to be a small army of healers when, in fact, it was only one doctor accompanied by two nurses.

"Well, Mister Malfoy, how are we feeling today?" the chirpy doctor asked as he approached the blonde, looking at the status chart that he had obtained from one of the nurses. Noticing that the doctor was at the receiving end of another Malfoy glare, Harry quickly answered the question for him.

"He can't talk right now, Dr. Kent. I think it's hard for him to do so," Harry said hastily. The doctor looked up at Harry momentarily before turning back to Draco.

"Oh, I see. Well, it seems as if you've been healing quite nicely for the past three days and I think that it is safe enough to remove the tube from you," the doctor said as he reached out to check Draco's vital signs. The blonde could do nothing but nod his head slightly.

"Very well, I think you're ready enough to breathe on your own again. Could you please give us a few moments, Mister Potter?" Dr. Kent said with a smile and Harry nodded his head while stepping back a few paces so that the one of the nurses could pull the curtain around Draco's bed without him being in the way.

Harry leaned sideways against the wall as he waited patiently for the doctor to finish examining Draco. Looking out of the window, Harry was greeted with a sight of a small boy of about five running towards his grandfather who was sitting under a willow tree, in a wheelchair. The energetic boy climbed up onto the old man's lap and threw his arms around his neck for a warm hug. Nearby, Harry could see the boy's parents walking leisurely towards the pair, hand in hand as they themselves watch their son's actions. Harry just smiled slightly but was pulled back to reality as a sharp cry echoed through out the room.

"That bloody hurt, you fucking asshole!" a voice shouted followed by a coughing fit and Harry bolted forward through the curtains without thinking twice. What he saw nearly made him fall over with laughter.

The two nurses, who Harry had last seen standing at the end of the bed, were now wrestling a very pissed off Draco Malfoy, all the while trying to get him to drink so that the coughing fit would pass. Standing a couple of steps away from those three was Dr. Kent, who was holding the tube that Harry assumed had been pulled out of Draco's throat, confused as to be alarm or amused by his patient's outburst. Finally, Harry decided it was his time to step in and help.

"Malfoy, get a grip! They're not going to kill you! They're just asking you to drink up," Harry said as he reached for the paper cup that the nurse had left on the side table so that they could calm the blonde down. Pushing through the two nurses, Harry then shoved the cup into his left hand and stood back with a glare. Not needing to be told twice, Draco downed the contents of the cup with two huge gulps and sighed slightly as the coughing fit subside.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Kent asked while handing the tube to one of the nurses and moving forward to check on his patient again.

"How do you think? Or do you want me to stuff that bloody thing down your throat so that you'll get a first hand experience instead?" Draco snapped, all the while looking murderous towards the tube that had been stuffed down his throat a few moments ago.

"Yes, I don't think it was a pleasant experience for you but I'm afraid it was a necessary one. Now, other than the fact that your throat might be a little bit sore for the next few days and the dull ache in your chest, are you in any kind of extreme pain?" the doctor asked again. Not particularly feeling like talking, Draco just shook his head. "Wonderful. If you keep this up, you might even be out of here tomorrow but we'll see how it goes. Mister Potter, can I see you outside for a moment if you don't mind."

"Sure," Harry replied shortly and proceeded to follow the doctor out the door. "Is there a problem, doctor?"

"Oh no, nothing is wrong but I was wondering whether or not Mister Malfoy's parents are aware of his condition? I'm a bit apprehensive as to why they aren't bombarding me with questions, so to speak, about their son and frankly, I'm a bit curious. Is everything alright?" Dr. Kent asked and Harry frowned slightly.

"To tell you the truth doctor, I'm a bit puzzled myself but I can honestly say that I don't know what to tell you. Don't worry about them not knowing, I know they have been told what happened. Maybe it's just because they might have a slight problem getting here, but that's just my guess," Harry replied as he subconsciously scratched his head.

"Oh, I see. In that case, please do tell them that if they have any questions at all they are free to ask me at any time," Dr. Kent said with a small smile, which Harry returned.

"Thank you, doctor. Don't worry about his parents, I'm sure they'll be here any day now," Harry replied and with a slight nod, the doctor walked away to continue his morning rounds.

Sighing slightly, Harry pushed through the beige door into Draco's room. Looking straight at the hospital bed, Harry fully expected himself to fall dead under the blonde's intense glare but upon entering the room, he realized that the blonde in question wasn't even on the bed.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out slightly, the earlier panic that he had managed to push away, returning with full force.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out again, this time slightly louder when Draco didn't reply. He thought he would go crazy with worry if Draco continued to refuse to answer his call, when a wheezy voice answered him.

"Potter, shut up. Your whining voice is giving me a headache," Draco said from behind Harry, Harry almost fell over in his rush to turn around.

"Don't do that," Harry exhaled as he raked his right hand through his messy hair, visibly relaxing as he saw Draco.

"Do what? Honestly Potter, I do not know what has gotten into you," Draco smirked as he walked slowly towards the bed, his right hand placed just above the tell tale wound, his breathing getting heavier with every step he took. Harry, sensing that the blond might pass out from the short walk, stepped forward, albeit hesitantly.

"Erm, Malfoy, are you sure you're alright? Do you need any help?" Harry asked, extending his right hand towards the blond, Draco just swatted it away.

"Get away from me Potter, I'm fine!" Draco snapped but the usually pale face of his was starting to flush and, up close, Harry could see that beads of sweat were beginning to form on his face.

"Are you sure because you look as if you're about to -" But before Harry could finish his sentence, Draco fell forward. Eyes widening, Harry lunged forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Fine indeed," Harry muttered as he tried to regain his balance with the additional weight. Wrapping his left arm around Draco's waist, Harry managed to help the blond to stand up again.

The blond in question however, was panting as if he had the run of his life.

"Don't touch me!" Draco exclaimed in between mouthful of air, Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Yes, we can't have me touching you as I please now, can we? C'mon, let's get you back to bed," Harry replied as he slowly guided Draco over towards the white bed, his grip didn't falter even when Draco's steps did. Halfway there however, Draco's feet gave away completely and his eyes glazed slightly.

"Malfoy! Don't you pass out on me now, damn it. Stay with me," Harry said as he threw all caution out of the window and picked up the frail body of Draco Malfoy. "Hang on. At least until I call the doctor."

At that, the fingers that were once rested on top of his shoulder curled around his shirt slightly.

"N-No, do not call them. I am fine," Draco mumbled as he rested his head on Harry's chest.

"What do you mean by 'I'm fine'? You almost passed out back there. Seriously Malfoy, you need to get that tube back inside you; I don't think you can breathe on your own yet," Harry said and at this, Draco shook his head wildly but weakly.

"No, do not call them. Please," Draco said while looking straight into Harry's eyes. Although Harry knew better than to listen to him, he couldn't ignore the slight tremor underlying his seemingly even voice. Nodding slightly, Harry laid Draco back onto the bed gently and after making sure Draco was comfortable, he turned away.

Barely having the time to acknowledge the soft whisper of 'thank you', the door that was once closed was flung wide open, revealing the sight of the ever composed Lucius Malfoy.

* * *

(1) – Yeah, Ron doesn't know. Hermione doesn't know either.

Thanks so much for all the reviews, you guys are fantastic! Keep it up, please; I need those reviews more than ever now! My life is a complete mess here and it is the only thing that is keeping me sane in this crazy world! Lol.

Well, quite a handful of you guys asked about some stuff but, sorry, I can't answer them yet. You will know the answers but not for another few chapters. A few of you who have read this chapter before might realize that there has been a slight alteration in the plot and I hope you like it.

Oh yeah, before I forget, as you can see from the above chapter, there is some serious grammar problem here. For some reason that will only be known to me, I need a new beta. Now, a fair warning to all of you who is considering this offer:-

I do not update regularly.

That's it. So, I need someone who won't mind me sending emails containing the next chapter after a few months of absence. So, if you think that you don't mind doing it, please, leave your email when you leave me a review.

Other than that, thanks so much for the reviews! Keep them coming yah!


	9. The calm before the storm

**Disclaimer: **Since when are they mine?

**Parings**: **Draco/Harry** **(that mean's SLASH people!)**; Implied: Severus/Hermione (Mild!), Ron/Hermione. (later. _Much _later.)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note:** Kinda long so I'll leave it at the bottom.

**Status:** Betaed! Finally! Oh, and say hello to my new beta, **Ruffinstuff**! Much love!

**Note: **_Italics _means thoughts.

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_Chapter 8_

_The calm before the storm_

"Harry," a voice called out behind him and Harry turned slightly, acknowledging the voice. His view, however, was focused on the falling rain that was pouring silently outside. Silently, he traced a single drop against the chilled glass, mimicking the move of the raindrop until it blended into the rest of the raindrops at the bottom of the window.

"Harry," the voice called out again and still, Harry did not turned fully. Instead, he wrapped his arms around his lower torso and walked further into the shadows and sat on one of the chairs, facing the bookcase. Harry then looked up at the mounts of potions books that were neatly stacked up against one another with a few dark arts books in between in an order that only Severus would understand.

Severus.

"Have you found him yet?" Harry finally asked, looking sideways so that the person would know that he was addressing them but not enough for them to see his expression. Never the less, it was enough for Harry to see the figure's pose stiffen slightly at his question.

"Harry, Severus is – " the person began but was cut off by Harry before he could continue.

"Find him; he is still out there somewhere. And while you're sitting here doing nothing, he might still be out there, injured!" Harry yelled and a vase at the far corner of the room suddenly burst into a million pieces.

"Harry, please, we found him," the figure said desperately. At this, Harry shot up and turned around to face the figure.

"Where is he? Where is he, Remus?" Harry asked, almost pleading but Remus looked at him sadly. Moving forward, Remus then placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and looked at the teen he now considered his own son in the eye.

"He is dead, Harry," Remus started gently and once again, he was interrupted by Harry.

"Stop lying to me Remus! He can't be dead. I just saw him a few days ago before the final battle! He can't be dead. There is no body so that means he is not dead," Harry said hysterically and backed away from Remus slowly as if Remus was someone he did now know.

"I know this is hard to except but –"

"There is nothing to except! He is not dead! How many times do I need to tell you that he is still alive!" Harry yelled and this time, the window that Harry was standing under a few moments before, shattered, falling into the room like a multi-coloured rain whilst mingling with the rain that was still pouring outside. From around Harry, Remus could see an unnatural golden glow started to surround his young charge, making Harry looked somewhat surreal.

"Calm down child. You are going to hurt yourself!" Remus exclaimed while he tried to move forward towards where Harry was standing but a rather large slice managed to cut his left cheek, making him flinch slightly at the unexpected pain.

"I am not a child!" Harry roared and this time, another explosion went off, outside the room they were in, no doubt another glass breaking from Harry's uncontrolled, raw power.

"Then stop acting like one!" another voice, female this time, shouted from the doorway and Harry swiftly turned to face the voice. His feature softens slightly as he realized who it was.

"Hermione, please tell Remus that he was mistaken; that Severus is not dead," Harry said to the girl. At this, Hermione strode forward and stopped a few step in front of him, looking him in the eyes.

Harry looked the girl directly with his eyes and he silently pleaded with her to tell him that Remus was wrong.

That everything is a lie.

"Yes Harry, Severus is dead," Hermione said clearly with an unmistaken tremor in her voice. At this, once again Harry's power tripled and the bookcase behind him started to shake.

"Stop lying to me, all of you! Why are you saying all this when Severus is clearly alive-"

"How do you know that he is still alive, Harry? What proof do you have?" Hermione cut him off, ignoring the power Harry was openly displaying.

"Because nobody has found his body! I refuse to believe that he is dead when there is no body for me to see! He is still alive, damn it! And we are wasting time, standing here, making accusation of him being dead when he might be somewhere out there, injured!" Harry yelled and with this, another explosion of power went out from him, making the books that was previously neatly stacked, fell from the bookcase and onto the floor.

At this, Hermione resolve crumble. He knew what Harry meant; without a body, Harry still has a small sense of hope that one day, they would find Severus alive. Without a body to see, he could carry on believing that Severus was not dead, just away.

He didn't want to believe that Severus Snape is dead.

Finally understanding, Hermione stepped forward and pulled Harry into a tight hug, holding onto Harry as the other teen struggle to break free from her grasp.

"Harry, listen to me. I know it must be hard for you to except this but we will get through this together. No matter what, we will be fine," Hermione whispered fiercely to Harry as one tear started to fall.

"What are you taking about, Granger? Let go of me!" Harry hissed but the grip around him only tightened. Ignoring the tears that were starting to seep through this shirt, Harry then grabbed Hermione's shoulder to push her away but froze at what Remus said next.

"He's dead, Harry. We found his body this morning, in the forbidden forest. We think that he died a few hours earlier while tying to get back to Hogwarts," Remus answered quietly from behind the two teen. Hermione sobbed harder at this as she buried her face against Harry's chest and Harry's arms fell limped.

"They found his… body?" Harry asked slowly, the aura finally disappearing from around him and the books finally stood still. Harry then looked down at Hermione, finding her shaking against him with tears still pouring from her eyes. She couldn't do anything else but nod.

Looking back up at Remus' sad feature, Harry knew that they weren't lying to him. Reality finally came crashing down around him and Harry had no choice but to stare it directly in the eye.

Suddenly he couldn't seem to stand up anymore and fell to his knees, bring Hermione along with him. His arms snaked around Hermione, pulling her into a hug and held on as tight as Hermione was holding on to him.

"No, no, no…" He whispered against her golden brown locks while shaking his head slightly. No matter what they say, he still refuses to believe that Severus is dead; no until he sees the body. He would not cry when there was still hope.

But then, one tear fell from his eye.

'_No, no, no! I will not cry! Severus is not dead!'_

And another.

'_He can't be dead!'_

And another.

And before he knew what was happening, the world was suddenly too painful for him to live in. Every breath was a struggle and he couldn't see what was going on around him. He heard people calling his name but he could not feel, hear and see anything but the blinding pain around him.

When the darkness finally presented itself, Harry welcomed it with open arms.

* * *

"Potter! Potter, you stupid fuck, wake up! Potter!"

"No!" Harry whispered as he shot up into a sitting position on the bed, frantically looking at the figure that woke him. Panting slightly, he managed to grab his glasses from the side table and looked at the pale, blonde figure that was perched up on the bed beside him. "Malfoy, what are you doing up?"

"I just felt like waking you up, at four in the morning, for a game of exploding snap. Honestly, what do you think! With you screaming like a banshee, I'm surprise the nurse didn't burst in here, demanding to know weather or not I managed to kill you yet," Draco said, while rolling his eyes. Standing up slowly, he then walked over to his bed and lay down.

Finally catching his breath, Harry then fell back onto the bed while wrapping the blanket tighter around his body, suddenly feeling the chill of the night hitting him full force. Breathing slowly, Harry started to recall the dream in which he never wanted to relive ever again. Cursing softly, Harry almost missed the soft voice that spoke out to him.

"What was the dream about?" Draco asked after a small eternity of silence. Thrown off by the sudden interest by his nemesis, Harry turned to his side and looked at the blonde who was lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Why do you care?" Harry asked back without any malice in his voice.

"I don't," Draco answered simply and stopped there.

The room was silent once again.

"I still don't trust you, you know," Harry stated, breaking it.

"You shouldn't," Draco replied.

At this, Harry studied the blonde silently from his position on the bed. The person on the bed was somewhat different from the Draco that he had grown up against. The somewhat subdued blond was contradicting himself; being the opposite person that Harry had the chance to watch growing up. Looking at him now, Harry could help but wonder which one is the real one.

"Who are you Malfoy?" Harry blurted suddenly, not meaning to ask and yet, glad that he did.

At this, Harry waited for an answer, somehow expecting the blonde to stay in the spell; to tell him everything. And yet…

"Good night, Potter," Draco replied, turning to his side, facing away from Harry.

And yet, Harry couldn't help but wonder, was he the only one enchanted by the spell in the first place while Draco stood outside, watching, the whole time Harry was trying to find the answers to the questions that even he did not realize he was asking.

* * *

"Mister Potter, could I see you outside for a moment," Dr. Kent called out after he had finished up examining Draco. Harry, who had been standing slightly away from the small group of medical staff, looked up and nodded his head before following the doctor out of the room.

"Is there something wrong with him, doctor?" Harry asked, an underlying tone of concern could be heard in his voice.

"Oh no, nothing is wrong. Quite the contrary, he is recovering splendidly. What I meant to tell you is that he is free to leave tomorrow morning. I trust you will see to it that his parents are notified?" Dr. Kent asked. At Harry's nod, the doctor smiled.

"Excellent. The nurse will tell you everything you need to know like what he should and shouldn't eat and the likes. Make sure he stays in bed for the next two weeks, the least and make sure that he's not alone, in case something happens. And another thing, please make sure that he stays off his feet and not moving around too much. Despite his best effort, I can tell that he's still having difficulties in breathing if he over-exerts himself, right?" he asked Harry.

"He asked me not to tell you about that," Harry replied lamely as he scratched his head slightly. The doctor laughed lightly.

"Nothing to worry about, it's quite common for someone who had to go through what he does. But, if it does happen again, please come back to the hospital immediately, understood?" he said and Harry nodded his head.

"Yes, I understand. Is that all doctor?" Harry asked again, while making a mental checklist on what he would have to do when they reach the apartment.

"Other than that, nothing. Don't worry; the nurse will fill you in on what I have forgotten. I hope your boyfriend will recover with speed," the doctor said with a twinkle in his eyes that reminded Harry strangely of Dumbledore.

"He's not my boyfriend," Harry mumbled, his face ablaze.

The doctor then just laughed as he walked away.

* * *

Review! Please, review! I'll love you forever! And for those who did, thanks a bunch!

Owh, and somebody asked me, what happened between Lucius and Draco when Lucius came by for a visit? Well, I know I just kinda left it as it was but don't worry, you'll find out what happened in that room later on in this story.

Since we are on the topic of clearing up stuff, I'll just answer some of the questions that some of you asked:

Harry and the gang are in their final year at Hogwarts. As for the apperating thing, yeah, they can do that. It's because of the whole war thing.

The funeral took place a month or so before their final year. If my guess is right, it should be somewhere during autumn.

About the Snape thing, I'll explain it in a later chapter. Don't worry, there should be one chapter devoted to all the explanation; one chapter for Harry and another for Draco. At least, that's what I'm planning on doing. But who knows, my muse likes to change things around from time to time so that could change too.

And the most popular question asked was: who is Adrian? Haha, wouldn't you like to know? But seriously, you'll find out about him in about another chapter or two. Hopefully, nobody will figure out who he is and it will all be a HUGE surprise for you. That is, it will be if I plan it well anyways.

And that's about it. Any other questions, feel free to ask kay.

By the way, thanks for all of you who offered to be my beta. Love you guys!


	10. Let the torture begin

_Ruffinstuff! Woooo! A nice break from final studying-for-ness._ _Yay._

**Disclaimer: **Since when are they mine?

**Parings**: **Draco/Harry****(that mean's SLASH people!)**; Implied: Severus/Hermione (Mild!), Ron/Hermione. (later. _Much _later.)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each other's wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Note:** Hey guys! I'm back with a new chapter! It's twice as long as the last one so I hope you enjoy it. And for those who kept pushing me to write some fluff: it's here! So, tell me what you think okay since this chapter was really hard for me to write. Review please and lets see if I can get it up till 200 reviews!

**Status:** Betaed! By my lovely beta: **Ruffinstuff**! Love ya lots! _Oh oh! That's me. _

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_Chapter 9_

_Let the torture begin_

"You need to eat," Harry stated plainly. He placed the tray that he had been carrying across the blonde's lap while ignoring the glare the Malfoy heir was shooting at him. Looking expectantly at him, Harry waited.

They had just returned from the hospital and the first thing the nurse told Harry to do is to when they reach home is to make sure Draco eats something. It was because Draco had refuses point blank to eat the hospital food for another day.

And Draco, being himself, was not making it any easier for Harry to make sure that he followedthe instructions the nurse had left him.

"Go away," Draco said, his voice barely a whisper, still weak from the operation.

"You need to eat. Ever since you got off from the medication, your strength is very low. You need to eat!" Harry exclaimed again.

"And whose fault is that?" he shot back and Harry cringed at this, knowing very well that it was his.

"Malfoy, please eat. You need the strength," Harry pleaded.

Draco continued to glare at the Gryffindor, and Harry countered by pleading with his eyes, masking the guilt and hurt that was threatening to break through the façade.

For a few minutes, they both of them stared at each other, neither one refusing to back down.

Finally, Draco unfolded his arms and picked up the spoon that was on the tray.

"Thank you," Harry said and Draco shot him one last glare.

Dipping the spoon into the still hot porridge, Draco stirred it a couple of times, mainly trying to stall for time. Then, scooping some of it, he triedto bring it towards his mouth but his hand was shaking too much. When the spoon was halfway towards his lips and his hand was clearly shaking still, another hand grabbed the said spoon over his to steady it. At this, Draco jerked his hand backwards, breaking contact with the other hand, spilling what was left on the spoon on the comforter.

"Bugger off," Draco spat and Harry shook his head slightly.

"C'mon, let me help you with that," Harry said softly.

"I said bugger off Potter! I can feed myself!" Draco yelled softly, his voice a bit higher than before. At this, Harry stood back and watched as Draco repeated his previous movements and finally, after a couple of tries and failing, dropped the spoon back into the still full bowl and pushing the tray aside with Harry only managing to catch it before it spilled all over the bed.

Without another word, Draco pulled the comforter over his shoulder and curled under it, facing away from Harry.

At first, Harry didn't know what to make of the sudden event and was content to just leave the blond where he was. But when he saw the lean figure underneath the covers started to shake from what Harry though was hunger, his patientstransformed into anger, and without thinking twice, Harry placed the tray at the foot of the bed and forcefully but gently, turned Malfoy on his back to face him and made him sit up on the bed once again.

"That bloody hurt, you prick!" Draco exclaimed, his face contracted with pain as he placed his right hand on the wound. Harry felt another stab of guilt in his chest but ignored it.

"Start eating or I swear to god that I will force-feed you," Harry snarled.

"Bugger off Potter and leave me alone. Don't you think you cause me enough pain already!" Draco shouted.

"Stop it, Malfoy! I know that it was my fault that you are in this position in the first place and you have no idea how fucking sorry I am that it happened to you instead of me but believe me, I am doing everything in my power to try and make things right again. I know that you're hurting - hell I've been there too! But you being stubborn like this isn't going to solve anything. So why don't you, just for once, just stop being a complete arsehole and let me freaking help you!" Harry yelled.

Glowering at Harry, Draco couldn't help but admit that the Gryffindor have some sort of a point. God knows that he was starving. Mutely, he reached for the bowl of porridge once again and set it down on his lap. Picking up the spoon, Draco then tried once again to manage the simple task of feeding himself but cursed softly when his hand refusedto stay still long enough for him to shove a few spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

Finally, after his fourth attempt, Harry priedthe spoon gently from his hand and lifted up the bowl from Draco's lap. Then, lifting up a spoonful, Harry brought it over towards Draco's lips and looked at him in the eyes.

And Draco had no choice but to open his mouth and obey.

* * *

"Harry, are you awake?" a voice called out from the living room and Harry looked up from the essay he was doing. Pushing himself up from the carpeted floor opposite of the bed, Harry then shot one last look at Draco and walked out into the living room. 

"Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here?" Harry smiled when he saw both Ron and Hermione standing in front of the fireplace.

"We came by to drop off your assignment. Where's Malfoy?" Hermione asked while handing a few rolls of parchments towards Harry. Motioning the both of them to sit, Harry sat down on one of the chairs and looked through the parchments.

"He's asleep. Judging from this, Malfoy's getting off from doing assignments right?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah. Lucky bastard," Ron laughed while he got up from his previous sitting position beside Hermione and walked over into the kitchen. "Got anything to eat?"

"Ron! You just ate!" Hermione scolded and Harry laughed.

"Yeah, make yourself at home," Harry replied while shaking his head slightly. Ron will always be Ron; hungry all the time. "Anything new happened today at school?" he asked to Hermione.

"No, nothing new; same old, same old. The professors think that it should take a few more weeks before the barriers between the seventh years to start crumbling. You know, because of this whole project thing. How are things coming along here?" Hermione reported and Harry nodded his head.

"As well as it should be. It's only been a day since Malfoy got back from the hospital so he is asleep most of the time. His energy level is pretty low as well; the surgery took a lot out of him, I guess," Harry replied, leaving out the incident that happened a few minutes ago. Setting the scrolls on the coffee table, Harry leaned back against the chair and smiled at Hermione.

"So, no trouble then?" Hermione probed. Harry just shook his head.

"No, nothing yet. But I'll give him a week or so. You know, until his body finally starts to heal a little bit. By then he should be feeling like his old self," Harry stated and Hermione chuckled slightly. Just then, Ron came back into the living room with a plate of sandwiches but before he could sit, Hermione stood up.

"Oh no, don't sit down. We have to go," Hermione said.

"But we just got here! I was just about to eat this sandwich!" Ron moaned while looking at the sandwich he had made a few moments ago.

"We have to go; Malfoy need some peace and quiet so that he could rest. Do you have a bag, Harry? For the sandwich," Hermione asked and Harry nodded his head yes. Standing up, he walked over into the kitchen and pulled out a bag from one of the drawers. Walking back into the living room, he handed the bad over to a sour looking Ron.

"Thanks, mate," Ron mumbled while stuffing the half eaten sandwich into the bag.

"Well, we better go. Take care, Harry. If you need us, don't be afraid to call," Hermione said while pulling Harry into a loose hug. She then walked over to the fireplace and held out the floo powder towards Ron.

"See ya, Harry," Ron said shortly, still mad about not being able to spend more time with his best friend. Walking over towards Hermione, he took a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace, calling out his apartment and stepping into the fire.

"Don't be so hard on him, 'Mione," Harry said.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Hermione replied innocently but Harry could see amusement twinkling in her eyes. Without another word, she mimicked Ron's earlier movement and with a flash, Hermione too left the apartment.

Sighing, Harry ran his left hand over his hair and looked around the room. "Thank god Malfoy didn't wake up," he mumbled to himself.

"Who can sleep through that racket," a week voice replied behind him and Harry whirled around, coming face to face with a very pale Draco.

"Malfoy, what are you doing up? Is there something you need?" Harry asked.

"Nothing you can give me, Potter," Draco smirked. Turning back towards the room, he then walked towards the bathroom. At this, Harry walked quickly and trailed behind Draco.

"Do you need any help?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Bugger off, Potter. I'm not some damsel in distress that needs saving from you," Draco snapped, the hand that was trailing the wall, gripped the frame to the door of the bedroom until his knuckle turned white. Standing still, Harry watched as Draco's free hand crept over above his wound and sweat started to form on his forehead, a sight that Harry was all too familiar with.

Knowing that Draco was probably going to kill him after all this was over, Harry walked forward a few steps and without another word, wrapped his arms around Draco's torso, supporting most of his weight.

Draco, feeling Harry's arm around him, instantly tried pulling away and tried to push Harry but the arm was too secure around him.

"Fuck Potter, let go of me," Draco panted, his right hand still clutching his shirt over the wound. Harry ignored him and helped Draco over towards the bathroom. Once they were in the bathroom, Harry sat Draco down above the closed toilet seat and turned away.

"Don't tell me that you're not going to watch," Draco spat sarcastically at Harry's turned back, making the Gryffindor blushed.

"Call me when you're done," Harry said shortly and then left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

After the incident on the first day, both Harry and Draco establish some sort of an understanding as well as an agreement. Draco, to Harry's surprise, finally realized that he needed Harry's help for the next two weeks in which he was too weak to take care of himself and became oddly silent for the better part of the first week; letting Harry helped him with everything and sleeping when there was nothing else to do. 

And Harry let him be. He understands how it must feel for someone as proud as Draco to ask for help in every little thing and he too kept quiet for the first week since they got back to the apartment.

It wasn't until the second week that Draco was able to move around and feed himself that he start to bite back.

And Harry only smile at Draco's behaviorwhen the blond uttered his first insult in a week. After a week of tense hostility between the both of them, Harry realized that he had missed the fights they used to have.

Harry simply realized that he had missed Draco.

* * *

The first argument they have after Draco was strong enough to feed himself was about a glass of milk. 

"Malfoy, I don't give a damn whether or not you like to drink milk. All I know is that you need to drink it. It's on the list!" Harry exclaimed as he handed the full glass of milk to Draco.

"And I told you, I don't give a rat's arse about the bloody list. I am not drinking that horrible thing," Draco replied, once again folding his arms across his chest. Rolling his eyes, Harry moved forward a few steps until he was standing right next to Draco.

"Why? Why won't you just drink the bloody thing? It's not that horrible. Its just milk!" Harry asked, this time perching onto the bed next to the blond while resting the glass on his own knee. At this, Draco looked away.

"I just don't want to drink it, alright. Besides, it taste disgusting," Draco replied and at this, Harry sighed.

"Would it make you feel any better if I get the milk in some other flavor for you?" Harry questioned. Draco turned to look at Harry and shot him a puzzle expression.

"What other flavor? I though milk can only taste like milk," Draco shot back. Harry chuckled at this.

"Show's what you know. Okay, if I get you some other flavor, would you just please drink up?" Harry begged. Draco kept quite for a bit, pondering things over and finally, he nodded his head slowly.

"Fine, bastard," Draco mumbled and Harry smirked.

"Thank you. Now go back to sleep; you haven't been sleeping as much as you're suppose to," Harry said as he stood up and walked over toward the bathroom where he proceed to dump the entire content of the glass down the sink.

"Get out then," Draco snapped at this, knowing very well that Harry won't do as he asked. Instead, he made himself comfortable on the bed and pulled the blankets tighter around himself. Harry, who, by now, have gotten used to it, ignored him.

"I mean it, Potter, and get out of this bloody room. I refuse to sleep with you hovering above me while I'm trying to rest," Draco snapped again when he saw Harry making himself comfortable on the chair in one end of the room.

"Just go to sleep, Malfoy," Harry replied.

"Bloody Gryffindor," Draco mumbled as he closes his eyes, trying to pretend that he was the only person in the room. Despite his efforts to stay awake that night, he ended up falling asleep almost instantly a few moments later.

And Harry, noting this, sighed and rubbed his face tiredly while standing up and walked out of the room. Draco would be safe for the time being and it was the only time he could think of to buy that milk he promised the blond.

"Bloody Slytherin," Harry mumbled to himself as he grabbed the keys and money on his way out of the house.

* * *

"Good evening, Mister Potter. Going out late tonight, aren't we?" 

At this, Harry looked up and smiled at the doorman that was holding the door open for him. Glancing at the wristwatch he had been wearing, Harry saw that it was well past midnight.

"Yeah Tommy, I need to pick up some stuff," Harry replied. Looking out through the glass door, Harry was surprise to see that it was raining heavily outside. "When did it start raining?"

"It has been raining for the past few minutes, Sir," Tommy answered and Harry frowned at this.

"I didn't notice. Oh well," Harry said to himself and nodded at the doorman. Finally, waving farewell at Tommy, he exit the building, only to be assaulted by the downpour.

"Shit," Harry cursed under his breath. Pulling the light jacket he had thrown on as an afterthought before he left the apartment tighter around his body, Harry then sprinted towards the corner store he had spotted awhile back. Lucky for him, the street wasn't as crowded as it would be in the morning so he reached the store in a few minutes. He then entered the store with his clothes drenched.

"Nasty weather, isn't it," a voice chuckled.

"Yeah," Harry replied shortly to the storekeeper and shot him a small smile. "Sorry for making your store wet all over."

The shopkeeper waved nonchalantly. "Think nothing of it. Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually there is. Do you happen to have any milk?" Harry asked, now shivering slightly at the cold atmosphere of the store.

"At the very back of the store," the shopkeeper replied, pointing towards the refrigerator at the back of the store. Nodding his thanks, Harry quickly went over to the said refrigerator and looked through the selections of milk. Finally, he decided on strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and coffee. Piling up the four cartons of milk carefully in his arms, he went over to the counter.

"This will do," Harry said and he reached for his wallet that was in his back pocket. The storekeeper then rang up the tally for the cartons of milk.

"That would be 12 pounds," he announced and Harry handed him the exact change.

"Thanks," Harry replied, taking the bag the shopkeeper offered. Nodding his head slightly, Harry opened the door to the store and braved into the still pouring rain outside.

"Malfoy so owes me big time for this," Harry mumbled under his breath as he ran back to the apartment.

* * *

Harry groaned softly as he opened his eyes, waking himself from slumber. His head was killing him and he felt as hot as oven. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, Harry slumped back onto the pillow when he realized it was six in the morning, half an hour later than when he normally wakes up. 

Harry wasn't as stupid as Draco made him out to be. As soon as he began sneezing yesterday morning, he knew he was coming down with a cold as a result of his late night escapade.At first, Harry had thought nothing of it, swallowing a couple of aspirin and continuing his now daily hovering over Draco but now, as he was faced with another failed attempt at getting up that morning, he was beginning to doubt his previous action.

"Buck up, Potter. It's just a cold," Harry scolded himself and tries once again to stand on his own two feet. Finally, after the fifth attempt, Harry manages to stand up, only to be assaulted with a splitting headache.

"Bloody hell," Harry cursed softly as to not wake Draco who was still sleeping. Grabbing hold onto the bed to steady himself, Harry proceeded to slowly walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, all the while squinting his eyes as too not let any unnecessary light from entering his eyes and causing him more pain then he was experiencing at the moment.

Upon entering the kitchen, Harry then began going through the upper left cabinet, looking for a bottle of aspirin he had placed there yesterday. Pulling out a pair of identical white tablets, Harry swallowed the both of it simultaneously with some water he grabbed from the refrigerator earlier.

"C'mon Potter, it's just a cold. Don't be such a sissy," Harry said to himself and sighed in relief once again as the medicine finally took effect. Ignoring his sneezing, Harry set out to prepare breakfast for Draco and himself.

* * *

Harry sneezed again for the fiftieth time that morning. 

"Potter, stop sneezing at my face," Draco spat as he shut the book he was reading with a soft bang. It has been three days since Harry has begun sneezing but that was nothing compare to today. It was really beginning to get on Draco's nerves.

"Sorry. Here," Harry replied absentmindedly as he handed another glass of milk to Draco, coffee this time.

Draco looked at Harry suspiciously. It was the third time this morning that Draco had snapped at Harry and the Gryffindor didn't even glare at him for it. He was beginning to think that something wasn't right.

"What's the matter with you, Potter? Missing your horde of fan girls back in Hogwarts already. It's only been a week since they last see you at school," Draco sneered and Harry nodded his head slightly in respond. Draco frowned at this.

"Okay, Potter, spit it out. What's wrong with you?" Draco glared but Harry just nodded his head slightly again. Placing the still full glass onto the bedside table, Draco then poked Harry in the stomach, hard.

"Huh?" Harry asked as he looked up at Draco, his eyes somewhat glazed.

"What is wrong with you?" Draco articulatedcarefully.

At this, Harry stared blankly at Draco for a few moments in which, Draco challenged him back with his piercing glare.

"I don't feel so good," was all Harry said before his eyes finally closed and he fell onto the bed, unconscious.

"Bloody hell," Draco breathed as he watched Harry fall, unable to move quickly enough because of his injury. Harry landed on the bed, barely missing Draco's semi-outstretched legs, on his sides, facing Draco.

"Potter, wake up," Draco said, leaning forwards slightly and poking Harry with his left hand.

A feeling started to make itself known at the pit of his stomach and shot through his spine, making Draco shivered slightly at the intense feeling. At first, he wasn't sure what it was, not having to feel it often but when he looked at Harry and the same feeling shot up once again, Draco realized with a cold dread what the feeling was.

Worry.

He was bloody worried about the fallen Gryffindor.

Cursing whatever it was that placed him in that particular situation, Draco gingerly pushed himself up to a standing position and slowly made his way towards the living room.

He had a fire call to make.

* * *

"Mister Malfoy, what are you doing out of bed?" Madam Pomfrey shrieked as soon as she realized it was Draco who fire called her. 

"I wouldn't be if Potter wasn't in it," Draco drawled and smirked when he saw the furious face of the matron.

"Potter should have known better than to fight you for the bed. Please fetch him for me and I will knock some sense into him while you rest," Poppy requested and Draco shrugged.

"I would. Only he is quite unconscious at the moment," Draco replied.

"Well serve him right for… Wait, unconscious, Mister Malfoy?" Poppy asked again, the anger morphed into worry in a matter of seconds.

"Yes. Has been for awhile now," Draco answered as he sat down on the sofa when the little energy he had suddenly evaporated, making him feel weaker by the moment.

"Then please step aside, Mister Malfoy and I will be there in a few minutes," Poppy said and was gone before she finished her sentence.

Shrugging slightly, Draco then pushed himself back up and walked slowly towards the bedroom, positive that Madam Pomfrey knew where they were.

"And here I thought you were suppose to be taking care of me," Draco scowled when he saw the unconscious form of Harry, laying sprawled on the bed, exactly where he fell when he blacked out. Sitting down at the edge of the bed opposite of where Harry was laying, Draco then looked at the form again, observing him closer this time.

Harry's face had unhealthy flush accompanied by a thin layer of sweat. Draco noticed that his breath was slightly labored, hitching a few times when he took his breath. At this, Draco frowned as he recognize the symptoms of some sort of a fever but did not know how bad it was. Reaching out, Draco pushed Harry so that he was lying on his back and then brushed the bangs backwards and felt Harry's forehead while the Gryffindor leaned into the cold touch involuntarily and was surprise to find it burning hot.

"I didn't even realize that you were sick," Draco mumbled, guilty that he didn't notice the unhealthy state of his housemate. Deep in thought, Draco didn't notice his hand that had started to soothing thread Harry's slightly sweaty hair.

"Good gracious, how long has he been out," a voice exclaimed from the doorway and Draco snapped out of his daze as the slightly plum matron rushed into the room, followed closely by McGonagall. Realizing where his hands were, he pulled the offending hand back, somewhat surprise at what he has been doing.

"For a few minutes, at least," Draco answered shortly, watching as Poppy waved her wand above Harry while mumbling some sort of incantation underneath her breath. A few heartbeats later, some words in Latin appeared and Poppy sighed, in relief or disappointment, Draco couldn't tell.

"What's wrong with him, Poppy?" Minerva asked. Apparently Draco wasn't the only one.

"A minor case of cold, coupled with lack of rest and proper nourishment," Poppy replied shortly as she walked towards the dresser and placed the small black bag she had been carrying the whole time.

"That explains the fever and passing out," Draco said absentmindedly and Poppy nodded her head at the statement.

"Oh thanks heavens," Minerva gushed, relief apparent on her aging face.

Poppy pulled out a few bottle of potions from the bag she had been looking through and walked over towards where Harry was laying. Lifting his head up slightly, she then poured the entire content of the first glass bottle that contained some sort of a yellow potion down Harry's throat. Massaging the Gryffindor's throat slightly to encourage swallowing, she then placed his head back on the bed and stood back.

"He should be waking up in a few minutes. I can't administer the proper medication if he is unconscious," Poppy answered the unspoken question and sure enough, a few minutes later, a soft groan punctured the soft atmosphere of the room.

"Mister Potter, can you hear me?" Poppy asked as she stepped back forward towards Harry. Another groan was heard flowed closely by a weak nod.

"Headache," Harry mumbled painfully.

"I realize that. Now, I need you to drink a couple of potions for me. Can you sit up please," Poppy requested.

From his position on the opposite side of Harry, Draco watched as the other boy struggle to do as Poppy said, only to fall back against the bed once again out of exhaustion. At this, another something surged through Draco's spine, making him move forward and placed Harry's head on his lap, surprising both female (_females) _in the room.

"Is this enough?" Draco asked, his eyes trained onto Harry's closed ones, refusing to meet the surprise ones of Poppy and Minerva.

"Yes, that is enough," Poppy replied, stuttering slightly at the beginning. Uncorking the second bottle, she helped Harry drink the potion, green this time. "Is that better?"

"Yes," Harry mumbled again. Smiling lightly, Poppy then gave Harry a third potion to drink and from the position above Harry's head, Draco could smell the faint scent of lavender; a calming draught.

"That should put him to sleep," Poppy said after Harry had drunk the potion. As Poppy predicted, Draco felt Harry's form relaxed gradually in his arms as slumber finally overtook him.

"I didn't even know that he was sick," Draco mumbled after a few minutes of silence.

"Didn't you notice anything peculiar in his behavior for the past few days?" Minerva asked gently and Draco kept quiet as he mulled the question over.

"He was pale and kept sneezing for the past few days. I didn't think much of it," Draco replied softly as his hands started to thread through Harry's hair once again. The only difference is that this time, Draco was conscious of the movement.

"When did it start?" Minerva asked again and at this, Draco's voice dropped to an even softer tone when he realized the answer to the question. The two female in the room strained their ears to hear his answer.

"It was that night when he went out to buy some milk for me. It was raining heavily that night," Draco said and Poppy nodded her head slowly at that.

"Probably because of the rain," Poppy said quietly.

"It's fine, Mister Malfoy. Don't worry about him. He should be good as new come morning," Minerva said soothingly.

"That's right. Just make sure he drink some pepper-up potion first thing when he wakes up and he will be as good as new," Poppy agreed and she showed him another bottle of dark blue potion which she then placed on the bedside table.

"You should get some rest, Mister Malfoy. Poppy and I will show ourselves the way out," Minerva said and Draco nodded his head slightly at that.

"Thank you," Draco said to their retreating backs.

However, it wasn't until a few hours later that Draco finally managed to sleep, his fingers still buried in the soft hair of one Harry Potter who, in turn, leaned further back into the embrace, content.

* * *

Harry woke up, feeling warm and content for the first time since the start of the term. Snuggling deeper into the warm blanket around him, Harry sighed softly. Opening his eyes slowly, Harry was met face to face with a milky white skin. 

"What?" Harry mumbled as he pushed himself back a bit. His eyes shot open when he realized why it was so warm in the first place. Harry couldn't help but blush.

Draco was asleep, on his back, arms around Harry's torso. His face, that was usually masked with indifference was, for once, relaxed with sleep. It was so different from what Harry was used to that he found himself unable to look away.

Reaching forward, Harry tucked some blond hair that fell above the close eyelids back behind Draco's right ear and smiled slightly. Then, Harry leaned closer towards Draco's right ear and whispered a quiet "thanks" before sitting up and pushing himself up from the bed. Noticing the midnight blue potion that was left on the bedside and working out whom the potion was for, Harry grabbed the bottle and walked out from the room.

He never noticed the pair of silver eyes that soften slightly at his turned back.

* * *

Harry sat up abruptly as the once inert fireplace suddenly sprang into life and a strict looking matron stepped into the room. Looking up, she smiled at the sight of Harry as she brushed off the soot with her free hand. 

"Good afternoon, Mister Potter. I trust that you are feeling better?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"Yes, thank you very much. The potion worked fine," Harry replied.

"Very good. Is Mister Malfoy awake?" she asked and smiled slightly as she watched Harry's face heat up slightly.

"I think so, yes. He just finished eating his lunch," Harry replied.

"That is fine. I need to make sure everything is in order so that he can take the potion tonight. Excuse me," she stated and walked briskly towards the bedroom.

As soon as she closed the door to the bedroom behind her, Harry fell back onto the sofa and covered his back with his hands, groaning softly. He completely forgot that the matron was there last night and she obviously saw how Draco had held him.

At the thought, Harry blush again.

"Stop it, Harry. It's nothing. Malfoy was just trying to be nice. He probably doesn't even realize how he was holding you this morning," Harry told himself. At this, Harry nodded to himself firmly.

"That's right, it meant nothing. I will stop thinking about it," Harry said determinedly before grabbing one of the homework he was working on before the matron appeared. To his astonishment, he did actually managed to forget about it.

He was so wrapped up in concentration that he was slightly surprised to see the matron standing in front of him.

"How is he doing?" Harry asked as he quickly rise up from his sitting position.

"He is doing extremely well. Because of this, it is safe for him to take the potion tonight," Madame Pomfrey replied with a smile and Harry nodded his head.

"Madame Pomfrey, about tonight, what time will you be here?" Harry asked.

"Oh, didn't I tell you Mister Potter?" When Harry shook his head, she continued. "It must have slipped my mind then. I will not be here to administer the potion to Mister Potter tonight. Instead, you will do it yourself."

"What? Why not? I mean, is that possible for a student to administer a potion to another student without adult supervision?" Harry asked, panicking.

"Nonsense, Potter. It is not a highly dangerous potion. It is a simple potion, which is design to flush out all the toxin in Mister Malfoy's body. Nothing more, nothing less," Madame Pomfrey replied while walking towards the small bag she had brought along with her.

"Why can't you do it instead? Or any one else for that matter?" Harry asked as he watched the mediwitch dig around the small bag and pulling out a small glass bottle. Taking it as it was offered to him, Harry then examined the content closely.

"I can't be here because there is another patient that requires my constant attention. Mister Winter was admitted this morning from taking an illegal potion which is highly dangerous to his heath and because of that, I cannot afford to leave him alone," Madame Pomfrey explained and Harry looked up at this.

"Daniel Winter? The sixth year Slytherin?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Now, listen. For tonight, all you have to do is to make sure Mister Malfoy drink this up after he hashis dinner. Understand?" she asked and Harry nodded his head.

"That's it?" Harry asked again.

"Yes. Although, after that, you need to look out for this symptoms," she said again and this time, she handed Harry a parchment.

"What should I do if any of this symptoms arises?" he asked.

"Well, if Mister Malfoy suffers from shortness of breath and sweating, he should be fine in a couple of minutes. But if he should sufferfrom anything other than the two, fire call the school immediately," Madame Pomfrey explained.

"Why can't you just give him any potions to help him breathe properly?" Harry asked, knowing very well that Draco would demand some sort of a potion to numb the effect.

"I can't give him any because there might be some toxin left in his body. I need to check the toxin level before I administer some other potion but usually, it would take about 12 hours until he is clean. Because of that, I will be here around 10 o'clock tomorrow to check up on him. Is that all?" Madame Pomfrey said.

"Yes, that's all. Thank you, Madame," Harry said and the matron nodded her head. Grabbing a handful of floo powder, she then called out the school and vanished.

Looking at the clock, Harry sighed softly as he pocketed both the potion and the parchment into his pocket and walked towards the kitchen. Making dinner would be a wonderful distraction, as he was not looking forward to tonight at all.

* * *

"Alright Malfoy, just shut your trap and drink up. The sooner you drink up, the sooner you will get better. I want to sleep on the bed again," Harry said as he handed Draco a small glass bottle filled with translucent blue liquid. 

The both of them had finished eating dinner a couple of minutes ago and after much stalling from Harry, the both of them werenow in the bedroom; one standing at the foot of the bed while the other sitting down on it.

Looking skeptically at Harry, Draco frowned.

"Do you expect me to drink that up? How dumb do you think I am?" Draco replied while he folded his arms across his chest as if he was protecting what was underneath the layers of bandage. Despite the gesture, Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Yes Malfoy, I expect you to do just that. It's just a bloody cleanser potion. It's so that all the toxin that is in your body that might react to magic is flushed out from your body. Nothing poisonous, I assure you," Harry said. At this, Draco glared at him.

"I wouldn't put it pass you to poison me when I can do nothing to disarm you," Draco said and Harry shook his head at this.

"I thought we've been over this the first night we came here. I can't poison you because we're the only two people in this house. If, by any chance that I did it anyway, they would know that wasme because there is nobody else in this bloody house. Now, are you going to cooperate and drink up or should I tie you up and force this down your throat? I'm fine either way," Harry said, nonchalantly. He watched the blond silently, the right hand that was holding the glass bottle still outstretched when Draco gave a small sigh and took it from Harry's hand. Harry smiled.

"I swear if I die – "

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill. If you die then your ghost will haunt me for the rest of my life and make me miserable enough to wanna kill myself and join you in the realm of the dead. Now drink up," Harry said.

"And don't you bloody forget it," Draco mumbled and without another word, he drowned the entire content in one gulp, making a face at the slightly bitter taste.

"See, the world didn't go dark after all," Harry smirked which earned another glare from the blond.

"Now what?" Draco snapped as he placed the now empty glass back on the bedside table and leaned back against the mounts of pillows behind him.

"Now we wait for any symptoms that you might show. If we're lucky, you'll show none at all," Harry replied while he sat himself down at the edge of the bed at Draco's feet.

"What symptoms?" Draco asked. At this, Harry took out a piece of parchment from the back pocket of his trousers and read it out loud.

"Shortness of breath, sweating, extreme pain anywhere on your body especially at the area of the intersection or stop breathing all together. You know, the usual. If it gets to the extreme pain, I'm suppose to fire call the school right away. The rest, you will just have to ride it out," Harry explained. He then handed the list over to Draco who scanned the parchment again.

"Ride it out? You mean I have to bare with the pain?" Draco exclaimed and winched slightly at the sharp pain that stabbed his chest from moving to quickly. At Harry's glare, he relax back again while taking a deep, calming breath.

"Yes. It shouldn't last that long, you'll pass out soon after. To sleep that is," Harry reassured him.

"Oh thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better. Suffering the pain until I pass out? Why can't you just give me a numbing potion or something?" Draco asked again.

"Pomfrey's afraid that the potion might react to the toxin that is still lingering in your body. According to her, it's only safe to give you some other potion 12 hours after the cleanser potion is administrated," Harry said.

"Damn," Draco replied, flicking the parchment back to Harry.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can sleep through it. It would be less uncomfortable or painful that way," Harry suggested. At this, Draco sighs in relief and nodded his head.

"I think I should. That bloody potion took more out of me that I though," Draco said while scooting back until he was lying on the bed comfortably. Harry could see that he was falling asleep but at the last moment, he opened his eyes slightly. Before he could say anything, Harry cut him off.

"No, Malfoy. I am not going to leave you alone," Harry sighed.

"It's not that. I was just wondering if you'd mind staying?" Draco asked drowsily, a brush of pink spreading across his cheek at the request as he closed his eyes.

Harry was quite surprise at that. The blond had never asked him to stay before. Pushing himself up, he then walked over to where the blond was now sleeping and smiled softly at the sight. Before he could stop himself, he brushed back a lock of blond hair that fell over the closed eyes.

"No, I wouldn't mind at all," Harry replied quietly to the still room.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes and groaned softly, cursing himself for sleeping on the job. Stretching, he winced at the sore feeling that only comes from sleeping on an uncomfortable, high back chair for hours at a time. Glancing at the clock that was situated on the side table, Harry frowned when he realized that it had been only three hours since he had managed to doze off. 

Harry was just about to curl up on the chair to resume his sleep when a soft moan accompanied by a sharp intake of breath pulled him permanently away from the thought of sleep. Sitting up, Harry then looked towards the bed and felt his blood ran cold at the sight of Draco Malfoy withering on the bed.

"Malfoy?" Harry called out as he shot out from the chair. Grabbing the chilled hand of the blonde with one hand, Harry then tried to wake the slumbering dragon but Draco only just pushed him aside.

"Can't breathe properly," Draco replied, eyes still closed, breathing uneven. At this, realization dawned.

"Shortness of breath," Harry whispered, mostly to himself. Louder, he said "Ride it out Malfoy, it shouldn't take too long. Is it that bad?"

A shook of the head, eyes still close.

"Good, than it means that this is still not a worse case scenario. Alright Malfoy, just calm down and breathe in deeply. That's it," Harry instructed and was glad that the blond was doing everything he instructed him to do. Reaching up, Harry brushed back the hairs from Draco's sweaty forehead.

"Sweating," Harry mumbled. At this, he reached for a small towel he had prepared before hand and gently wiped the sweat away.

"How long?" Harry heard Draco asked.

"A few more minutes. Hang on, okay. You're doing great," Harry replied encouragingly.

For endless minutes Harry watched Draco struggled with every breath while wiping his now damp face, hating watching him suffer and yet, powerless to do anything about it.

'_I need to do something. I should do something. But what? C'mon, Harry, think!'_ Harry thought to himself as he continuously wiping the sweat out of Draco's eyes, watching as the blonde's breathing steadily grew heavier by the minute.

'_Should I call the hospital? No, I can't do that; they would want him to keep taking the drugs. The school?'_ At this, Harry glanced at the clock at the bedside table once again and frowned. It was close to four in the morning and realized that the matron was probably fast asleep by now. Waking her up would seem inappropriate since she did say that she this should be a normal behavior for Draco.

Finally, after ten minutes of arguing to himself while watching the blond and still, no positive reaction from Draco, an idea struck him.

"C'mon Draco, move up. You need to sit up so you can breathe easier," Harry said while he pulled Draco into a sitting position. Draco, who's at this point is too exhausted to fight back, could only cooperate silently.

Holding the blond up while rearranging the pillows behind Draco wasn't as easy as Harry madeit out to be, considering he was only left with one hand to maneuver the pillows. Finally, after struggling and failing, Harry decided it was easier if he would just sit behind the blond so that Draco could lean back against him.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked, breathless as he felt Harry climbing onto the bed behind him.

"It's easier this way. Come on," Harry replied as he positioned himself behind Draco and pulled Draco back so that he could lean back against him. Harry then placed Draco's head on his left shoulder and then, with his left hand, stroked his hair gently.

"Breathe," Harry whispered into Draco's ear as his hand continued to caress the soft hair. His right hand then crept up underneath Draco's thin shirt and gently, as to not cause any more pain to the cut, caresses the wound that was underneath the layers of bandages.

At first, Harry was surprise at himself for doing such a thing and was fully prepare for an all out yelling. But, as Draco relaxed more with every stroke and his breathing even out with every caress, Harry couldn't help but, once again, smile softly at this.

Kissing the side of Draco's head gently as the blonde finally fall into deep sleep, Harry mumble a faint good night before hugging the blond closer to his body and falling asleep himself.


	11. Emotions of Many

**Disclaimer:**Sweet dreams are when Harry and Draco are mine. And since I kept having nightmares all year long, I guess that means that **they are not mine!**

**Parings: **Draco/Harry; Implied: Ron/Hermione and Snape/Hermione(_very_ mild!)

**Rating: R/M**. Just in case.

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together in without magic for two months. Will they survive each others wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note:**Sorry this is so late! University started back up again and it's worse than ever! I swear the professors are out to kill us; we don't even have time to sleep anymore. So yeah, updates will be less regular I'm afraid. Sorry about that but it can't be helped. Oh and sorry bout this chapter too, it seems kinda choppy to me. Oh well... Enjoy anyways. Oh and review please! Love you guys to pieces!

_**I'm Not in Love**_

Chapter 10

_Emotions of Many_

He had only remembered waking up this warm and content once in his entire life.

Opening his eyes, Draco blinked owlishly as his eyes adjust to the dark room. It was no more than six o'clock in the morning; the greenish glow of the digital clock on the bedside table informed him so. Snuggling further back into the warmth, Draco smiled lazily at the lethargic feeling of blissful slumber threatened to overtake him once again.

That was before a pair of strong armstighten their hold around his lanky frame.

Forcing himself not to panic, Draco tilted his head upwards towards where he suspected his bed-mate was laying. Meeting a pair of emerald green eyes that were always obstructed by a pair of hideous glasses, Draco finally came to his senses and jumped out from the warm circle of arms with a yelp.

"What the hell!" Draco cried out, the lost of warmth hitting him full force as he shivered slightly at the morning cold.

"What?" another voice laced heavily with sleep replied.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco yelled, his arms automatically wrapped themselves around his body, partly in defense and partly to fend of the cold.

"What are you talking about, Malfoy? What did I do?" Harry asked back, puzzlement lacing his voice.

"What the hell do you think you're doing sleeping in the same bed as I am!" Draco yelled again, his face aflame.

Draco watched, partly with amusement and partly with annoyance as Harry slowly regain his bearing.

_'Finally'_ Draco chastised silently as a pair of emerald widen in realization.

"Fuck! I'm so sorry, Malfoy. I was just trying to help. You couldn't breathe and I thought -"

"Save it, Potter. I seriously do not want to know," Draco snapped, cutting Harry off mid sentence, annoyed at Harry's babble. He then walked towards the door and as he reached out for the doorknob, he heard a soft "I'm sorry".

"This changes nothing," Draco replied and with that, he exit the room.

* * *

"Good morning, class. I trust that you have had a very pleasant weekend" Professor Yohanna chirped as she stepped into the gloomy seventh year class that morning. Facing the class, she then laughed lightly when she saw a few murderous look thrown her way. It was the first Muggle Studies class they had since the move-in a few weeks ago.

"Great! Now, I have to apologize for my absence for the past few weeks. I was called away by the Ministry regarding this project you are currently doing and I have to say, I have one piece of good news for you lot," she continued as she st at the edge of her table. At this, half of them looked hopefully back at her.

"The project has been cancel?" a hopeful Pansy asked from her seat at the very back of the class.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Parkinson," Professor Yohanna replied and she smiled inwards at the crestfallen faces of her seventh years. "Okay, so I did a bit of false advertising. It might be good news for me but bad news for you. I just receive instruction for your first assignment. It is a combine project with either Potions or Herbology - depends on which elective you choose,"

"What is it about?" Hermione asked, eager to start. As always.

"Your first assignment for this class is an essay. I want 2 roles of parchments long essay about your house mate. If you so happened to have more than one, then you can combine them both into one. Hand it in by next week," she stated.

"2 roles of parchments! What are we going to write about?" Ron shrieked.

"Anything you want as long as it is relevant. Talk. Ask questions. Anyway you do it, and as long as it is legal, I don't mind. But remember, I want you to write an essay about _them_, not their families. So, as strange as this might sound, I do not want you to consult any books at all," Professor Yohanna replied.

"What! Not consult any books!" Hermione sputtered and at the professor's affirmation, turned quite pale that Ron had to remindedher to breathe while he himself smirked behind her back.

"Oh, and before I forget," she began and then pulled out her wand from her pocket, aiming it at the neatly stacked pile of parchments behind her. All of a sudden, all the parchments zoomed from the table and landed in front of the students, three roles of parchments each. "I want you to use the parchments in front of you instead of your own. I've given an extra sheet of parchment to you, just in case. The parchments are charmed so that you can't write lies about anything. So, if you're planning to make things up, think again."

"Damn," a voice suspiciously like Goyle rasped out.

"So, that is the first part of your combined project. As for the second part, you will need to consult either Professor White or Sprout. They both have a list of what subject the students project will be on," she explained and as soon as she was done, a distance ring of the bell was heard, signaling the end of the class.

"Alright class, time's up. You may go," she said and walked back towards her table to finish up some last minute markings.

Harry sighed tiredly as he slowly pack his bag, stuffing his things carelessly into it. He was quite worried about the latest assignment they had received from the bouncy professor. The things that Malfoy might ask him in the name of research for the assignment was making him nervous. More specifically, questions about his past. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he failed to notice his two best friends coming up behind him. He jumped slightly when he felt Ron's hand on his shoulder.

"Harry, are you alright? You seem kinda pale," Ron voiced out as he withdrew his hand from Harry's shoulder. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired," he replied, pulling his closed bag onto his shoulder and walked out of the classroom.

"Tired? But it's barely noon," Hermione said while giving Harry a very pointed look which Harry ignored.

"I just didn't sleep well last night. Nothing to worry about. We got potions next, 'Mione," Harry said, changing the subject.

"And I got herbology. Speaking of which, I better go. Seamus is waiting for me. See you two at lunch alright?" Ron said and then ran ahead to where Seamus along with Padma werewaiting. Looking around, Harry spotted Dean walking with Lavender a few steps ahead of them while talking to each other with deep concentration to what the other was saying. Not wanting to interrupt them, Harry signal to Hermione that they should follow them.

"What happened yesterday?" Hermione asked falling in step with Harry.

"Pomfrey finally showed up around noon and declare that Malfoy was fit enough to return to class today. She didn't want us missing out on anything else since we have already missed two weeks worth of classes. She just said that Malfoy will be more tired than usual for a few days as his body adjusts back to its previous condition," Harry explained, recapping what had happened after the incident the morning after Draco had taken the cleansing potion. He then yawned loudly, barely covering his mouth as he did so.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, concerned as she observed Harry's pale face and tired appearance.

"I'm okay. Just tired. Please don't look so much into it. I don't want Ron to worry," Harry said. Pulling the bag closer towards him with one hand, Harry then used his left hand to rub his tired eyes behind his glasses while yawning softly.

Hermione couldn't help but smiled at the adorable sight her best friend made when he was tired. Even though Harry was the most powerful wizard alive, he seemed to transform into a child when he rubbed his eyes to chase away the sleep. A few feet in front of them, Hermione could hear the quiet 'aww' that came from Lavender and a chuckle from Dean as they turn to watch Harry.

"What?" Harry mumbled, blushing slightly and Hermione laughed.

"Nothing. C'mon, let's get to class," Hermione answered as she pulled Harry towards the dungeon, unaware of another pair of eyes that watched the whole scene from afar.

* * *

Stepping into the potion classroom, Harry felt a distinct pain that always accompany the memories he had of the late Potion Master. Severus was the only reason why Harry was still taking up Potions and although he wasn't the brightest student in the class, he wasn't hopeless either. Reaching out and taking Hermione's hand in his, Harry gave it a gentle squeeze as he pulled her by the hand towards their regular seat which was in the middle of the class.

"Good Morning class. Please settle down," Professor White, a quiet man in his late thirties called out from the front of the class. "Thank you. As all of you may or may not know, today's lesson is about the two way project that you and your house mate have been assigned to. Because of this, I would like you to sit with your house mate before we begin. As for those of you whose house mate does not take this particular subject, please pair up amongst yourself."

Once again, Harry sighed,although this time, inwardly as he looked over at Draco's scowling face. Knowing that the blond would refuse to move, Harry gathered up his stuff and switched over to Draco's workstation while throwing Hermione a small smile.

"Excellent. Now, your assignment for today is simple enough. I want a proposal from you and your partner on which potion the both of you think might help you in getting the best result when getting to know each other better. It can be any potion you wish, as long as it is legal and you can brew it yourselves that is. As for those whose house mate is not here, you need to consult with your house mate whether it is best to use a potion for your purpose or another type of plant. Either use a potion or pick a plant that have a specific property in them that can help you to achieve your goal in understanding each other better. For example, you can either choose a truth enhancing potion _or_ a type of plant that will able you to read each other's mind. Are we clear on that?" Professor White explained and everyone nodded their head in response.

"Very good. As that is your assignment, I shall leave it at that. Please hand in your proposal on which potion you wish to use by your next class. You and your partner will brew the potion then and if I see fit, you can administer it to each other within the time limit given to write up your report. Now as for today's lesson..."

At this, Harry turned and looked discreetly at Draco who was rapidly paying attention to today's lecture and once in awhile taking down some notes. Tuning out the professor's voice after he had finished telling them of their overnight assignment, a thought crossed his mind as his eyes focused on the words he had written on his parchment.

What would it have been like if he had taken Draco's hand that day. Would things be any different?

Harry snorted softly at his own thoughts. _Of course_ things would be different. For one, he wouldn't have beenbe sorted into Gryffindor with Ron and Hermione and he and Draco wouldn't be in this situation they were in right now. But, looking back, Harry knew it at the very back of his mind that somehow, a tiny part of himself wished that he _had _taken Draco's hand that day.

At this thought, Harry's left hand automatically reached back and caressed through the layers of his uniform the tattoo he knew would vanish in a couple of weeks. How would it feel like to do this to a person who trust him instead of his sworn enemy. But then again, Draco _wasn't_ his sworn enemy. It was just a silly schoolyard rivalry and not for the first time in his life, Harry wished it wasn't the situation between the both of them.

Now, looking back down at his piece of parchment, Harry smiled to himself. He knew which potion he wanted to use. But the question was, would _Draco_ go for it?

* * *

"Okay Malfoy, let's get this over with," Harry sighed as he sat Indian style across from Draco at the coffee table. The fire was burning merrily behind Draco that Harry couldn't help but think of an angel when he was looking at the blond. Harry snorted at the thought. Angel in disguise was more like it.

"We are suppose to suggest a potion that we think might help us in getting to know one another better. Obviously we need to come up with some version of a truth serum," Draco said as he consult the parchment that Professor White had given the both of them earlier that morning.

"Obviously. The question now is which one?" Harry asked.

"Veritaserum, of course," Draco smirked.

"Can you be more original?" Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Why? Scared that I might actually find out your deepest darkest secret and sell it to Witch Weekly?" Draco sneered.

"You wish. Besides, I don't think they'll buy some sob story about a boy who lived in a closet for the first ten years of his life," Harry replied.

"Who?" Draco asked, wondering who that poor boy was but Harry waved him off.

"Nobody you know, I assure you," Harry replied. Draco was curious about the boy and a part of him felt sorry for him, but he wasn't about to let Harry in on that. Instead, he ignored it.

"So Potter, which potion do _you_ think we should use?" Draco asked almost mockingly.

Harry didn't answer him straight away but instead, he stood up and walked towards the glass sliding door that led to the balcony and looked outat the oblique view of London. He was lost in thoughts; Draco knew this by the endless emotions that passed through his usually smiling face but for the life of him, Draco could not figure what the memories were.

But when the once smiling face turned into a sad and remorse ones for a longer period of time, Draco couldn't help but want to know what happened that warranted the emotion that was now freely displayed. It was then that he realized that he knew next to nothing about what makes his nemesis tick.

_'What happened to you, Harry Potter,'_ Draco found himself asking quietly.

"Seritaserum," Harry said quietly after a small eternity.

At this, Draco couldn't be bothered to hide his surprise.

"Seritaserum?" Draco asked, his hands that was holding his quill tighten its hold. At Harry's nod, Draco inhaled deeply.

"A hybrid of Veritaserum, it forces the drinker to tell the truth but instead of stripping the drinker of his free will, Seritaserum ables the drinker the freedom of letting which truth they want to tell and at the same time, adding the most important factor in which the truth is best heard with: emotions," Harry recited from memory of a paragraph from their potion text.

"I know what it is," Draco snapped defensively and watched at Harry shrugged in response.

Seritaserum. Draco couldn't help but smile at the name of the potion. It was his idea to name the potion as it was now. The potion was a three way product of Severus, Hermione and himself. It was a relatively new potion; it was only discovered and perfected less then a year ago. The idea behind the theory of the potion was Severus' which was why it was him who took all the credit. Seritaserum was a milder version of Veritaserum and although it had absolutely no use for the Ministry, it was one of the most widely used potion, much to the late Potion's Master's amusement.

"Why Seritaserum?" Draco found himself asking.

"Why Seritaserum?" Harry repeated the question with a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know. It was the first potion that popped into my head, I guess."

"But why not Veritaserum altogether?" Draco asked again. At this, Harry turned back around and walked back to his seat, looking passively at Draco before siting back down with one graceful movement.

"I would like to be aware of what I'm telling you, Malfoy. Is that too much for me to ask of you?" Harry replied humorously but his eyes was missing its usual twinkle.

Draco leaned back against his outstretched arms behind him and studied the Gryffindor in front of him and not for the first time in his life, he wished he knew what Harry was thinking.

"According to Severus, emotion is the essence of every truth," Draco said and Harry nodded.

"I know."

"Why, Potter? That's all I want to know," Draco stressed, giving the Gryffindor another chance to back out from his own idea.

"No more lies. No more deceit. No more backstabbing. It all ends here," Harry answered, looking straight into Draco's blue-gray eyes.

Lost in the lush green of Harry's emerald eyes, Draco knew there was no way at all that he could refuse the chance to learn more about Harry instead of what he had only heard about. He knew there was a trade off to his curiosity; that Harry will have an equal chance to know an infinite amount of anything from Draco as well but for once, Draco decided to throw all caution to the wind and risk it.

It was about time he let someone in anyways and the irony was that he choose Harry Potter of all people.

"Okay. Seritaserum it is," Draco agreed, his voice barely a whisper.

He could have sworn that he saw the corner of Harry's lips turned upwards slightly as he bent his head to start their research for their proposal.

* * *

Draco groaned, silently cursing the fact that he had, for once in his life, managed to sleep on the carpeted floor for some length of time, the book he had been reading earlier on was still open beside his head. Stretching his stiff body, he then pushed himself up into a sitting position, wondering what was it that had jolted him out of his peaceful slumber. Looking around the now dimmed living room, Draco only managed to trace the outlined of Harry's frame sleeping on the other side of the coffee table they had been studying at. Draco noted that his glasses rested on an open book above his head as well.

Yawning slightly, Draco then reached forward to close the book and placed it on the table. Last night had been very successful; they had managed to finish their proposal that was assigned by Professor White. Feeling rather thirsty despite the late hour, Draco then stretched his body one last time and stood up, rather unsteadily, to get himself a glass of water. It was then that he heard the whimper.

It was only a soft one, Draco had barely heard it even though the night was still. At first Draco thought that he had only imagined it, with him practically half asleep on his feet but then, he heard it again. This time, the whimper was much louder.

Since there was only another person in the apartment with him, Draco immediately suspected that it was Harry who had been whimpering. Draco smirked to himself, thinking that he might finally able to catch Harry in one of his most embarrassing moments where he was having a wet dream about someone. Forgetting his quest for a glass of water all together, he then walked over towards where Harry was lying and stood beside his withering body.

"No, please, stop it. Not him, anyone but him," Harry whispered desperately, his hands seems to reach towards something. At this, Draco's smirk faltered.

Finally, from this position, Draco was able to see what he had only heard rumors about. The life of The-Boy-Who-Lived was never private to begin with and, being a student of Hogwarts himself, Draco had always managed to grasp some odd gossip of Harry once in awhile. Some of them was as far fetched as to say that Harry somehow could never tear himself away from all the violent nightmare of his past, present and what could be his future. Draco had ever believe any of it, thinking that it was just one of Harry's plan to gain more attention and popularity.

That is, until now.

Harry was almost violent, trashing about in his sleep, seemingly unable to escape it. He was mumbling incoherent babbles to himself, turning from side to side, his head banging on of the leg of the coffee table a few times. Draco couldn't move, paralyzed to the spot, seeing his nemesis in his most vulnerable state yet. It was only when the tears started that Draco seem to jolt out of whatever state he was in and knelt down beside Harry.

"Potter, wake up. Come on, it is just a dream. Wake up," Draco said, shaking Harry's body slightly but instead of waking Harry, it only seems to make it worse.

"No! Get away from me! Let me go! I've got to protect him, he's the only one I have left! Let me go!" Harry yelled, his hands pushing Draco away, going as far as to smack him. Hard.

"Ouch! Potter, you bastard. You are so going to pay for that later," Draco mumbled to himself as his left hand massaged his right cheek gently. He was tempted to leave the Gryffindor alone and let him ride out the nightmare but when the tears stared to pour tenfold accompanied with heavy sobs, Draco couldn't help but felt his heart break at the sight.

Inspiration striking him suddenly, Draco proceeded to jumped up and straddle the sobbing boy. Grabbing his wrist firmly but gently, Draco held it above Harry's head so that the latter couldn't hit him anymore while using his own body weight to hold Harry's body down.

"Harry, please. Wake up. It's only a dream. They can't hurt you anymore," Draco whispered closely beside Harry's left ear while his hands that was grasping hold of Harry's protesting ones, caressed it gently. Harry then turned his head to the left and buried his face against the crook of Draco's neck, sobbing softly. "Open your eyes, Harry."

At first, Draco didn't think that Harry would do as he asked, thinking that he was still trapped in the nightmare that was his past but as he felt the fluttering of Harry's long eyelashes against the side of his neck, Draco couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Draco?" Harry mumbled, his voice thick with emotion.

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Draco asked softly. For a few moments, Harry didn't move and Draco thought that he had fallen back to sleep until he felt a minute movement at the side of his neck. Then, sensing the obvious closeness of their frames, Draco let go of Harry's wrist, after giving it one final caress, and made a move to get up when a pair of shaking arms wrapped itself around his narrow waist. "Harry?"

"Don't go. I'm scared," Harry whispered as he tighten his hold around the blond.

At this, Draco couldn't stop the soft smile that was forming across his lips. Assuming his previous position on top of Harry, Draco then ran his hand through Harry's wild hair while marveling at the softness of it.

"It's okay, I've got you. I'm not going anywhere," Draco whispered back, and with that, Harry smiled back. Listening to Draco's voice whispering sweet reassurance to him, Harry couldn't help but hope that there was a deeper meaning to the actions and words Draco had so freely shown him at that moment; that behind that almost loving caress, somebody actually cared for him, even only to see him suffer sometime in the near future.

Harry couldn't help but hope.

* * *

Owh, and Seritaserum, as you guys might have figured it out by now, is my own creation. Tell me what you think bout it! And yeah, it got kinda fast towards the end. 


	12. Liquid Inferno, Frozen Glacier

**Disclaimer**: Heh, not mine. Not now, not ever so don't sue!

**Rating**: M/R

**Paring**: Main: Hp/Dm, Side: Ss/Hg (Mild. Very mild.) Rw/Hg

**Summary**: Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together in without magic for two months. Will they survive each others wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note**: Ah, yes, I am back! I am so, so sorry for making you guys wait for so long but hey, uni's been hell. Well, at least I didn't leave you guys on end with another cliffhanger, right? Lol. And no, there won't be any cliffhanger in this one either. _About Adrian_. I have some news about him. Who he is will be reveal in… about the next two chapters (I'm betting some of you thought that he will finally appear in this chapter, right? Lol). So, if you wanna know who he is, I suggest you review so I'll write faster (hint, hint). On another note, I am truly thankful that you guys have stayed with me till this chapter and seriously, Thank You for reviewing and pushing me to keep on writing this story. It might be out a bit late… Okay, a lot late but I will try and finish this before I graduate (that's about 2 years from now). Oh, and review this one too, yeah. BTW, the 'hp...dm' thing, it's for the page break since somehow everything else doesn't work.

Special thanks to **_ruffinstuff_** for stickin' by me though I haven't update in ages!

**_I'm not in love_**

_Chapter 11_

_Liquid Inferno, Frozen Glacier_

'_For everything that had happened last night, it's okay as long as this warmth is here when I wake up,' _Harry thought sleepily as he awoke with warmness enveloping his entire being. At first, Harry didn't seem to register anything other than what he was feeling at the moment, snuggling further into the warmness that was freely given to him, delighted to the fact that the warmness seemed to be snuggling back to him. But as the sense of something completely different than overwhelmed him, Harry opened his eyes to the blurry world.

Out of all the things that Harry thought would happened during his stay in this apartment, waking up to the sight of Draco Malfoy sleeping was not one he expected. Nor that Draco would be the one who had managed to rouse him from a dream that nobody could ever pull him out of, all with a few words accompanied by soft touches. As the remains of last night's sand finally cleared away from his eyes, Harry started to recall what had happened last night.

The touch had been foreign to him as it was not something he expected from the blond. Contrary to the usual hurtful punches that had been thrown at him, it had been the opposite that was shown to him last night; that instead of wanting to hurt him, Draco had somehow managed to pull him out of the nightmare he was trapped in, gently easing him back to reality with his soft touches.

Not particularly fond of words, he had never been very trusting of it since words were easily misused and often just empty lies. All his friends knew this and so they often _showed_ him instead with a hug or ruffling of his hair, anything to show him that they care about him. Throughout the years, he had believed them and although it took awhile, none of them ever regretted showing him the affections instead of telling him.

Now looking at the slumbering form of Draco, Harry couldn't help but question the real motives behind the blonde's actions; whether it was meant to deceive instead of comfort.

With those thoughts still lingering in his mind, Harry somehow found himself running his index finger down from Draco's hairline to his nose in soft, gentle strokes. When the blonde scrunched his nose slightly at the motion, Harry couldn't help but smile at the act, amazed that the usually cold person could do something so cute. Threading his hand through the impossibly soft hair, his hand stopped at the base of Draco's neck and caressed it slowly, willing for the other to wake up.

Almost instantly, Harry's wish was granted as the pale eyelids fluttered slightly and opened to revealed sleep filled gray orbs that somehow took Harry's breath away. Whatever it was that had happened last night, Harry was certain that whatever feelings he had felt last night would revert back when he wake up. But as the pale hand that used to inflict pain before suddenly came up and caress the frame of his face gently, Harry suddenly found that he wasn't quite so sure anymore.

Draco felt the caress as soon as it reached his nose where he couldn't help but scrunch it slightly, the tickling sensation making him do the unthinkable act such as that. Although wondering what it was that was making him do so, Draco did not opened his eyes at that moment, not wanting the warmness of that moment gone so soon.

Draco had always been a light sleeper, ever since the incident that warrants that ability of his to surface. At first, he could feel himself stiffen at the touch, not expecting to feel anything remotely close to kindness ever since birth but as the touches continues, the feeling somehow managed to morph itself into something that he never allowed to feel before. Not wanting to analyze it, he forced himself to stop thinking and just _feel_.

As the hand that was trailing through his hair finally stopped at the base of his neck, Draco then opened his eyes slowly to stare into the piercing gaze of his counter part, finding him drowning at the unidentifiable emotions that were swirling in the depth of those orbs.

Against his instinct, Draco trailed his right hand that was resting in between their close bodies up to gently trace the strong frame of Harry's face. A feeling of something strong hit him as he suddenly felt the longing of another being laying close to him, assuring him that everything he was currently feeling was okay and that it was fine to want to feel safe and secured.

But then, the memories of another pair of emerald green eyes suddenly flashed in his mind. A pair of emerald green eyes that was looking up at him filled with love, comfort and trust suddenly morphed into a cold, unstaring eyes of the same person. With a quick inhale of breath, the hand that was slowly stroking Harry's face suddenly trailed down to his chest and roughly pushed him away. Then, with one quick movement, Draco was on his feet, facing away from Harry, who was also standing up.

"Draco, what the--"

"Don't Potter, just don't. What happened last night was a mistake. A mistake that I won't be repeating ever again," Draco cut off before Harry could finish his sentence.

"Mistake! What mistake? I was there, wasn't I? I felt and I heard everything. I know that you didn't do it just because you didn't have a choice. Those words you said were –"

"Were said to calm you down so that you didn't cry yourself to death. Merlin, Potter, are you listening to yourself? You sound like a needy fifteen year old that had just been told that her first fuck had just dumped her. Grow up." Turning around, Draco smirked as he folded his arms across his chest. After this, Harry felt the world drop away from underneath his feet.

'_It wasn't a lie, was it?'_

"Why? Why are you acting this way?" Harry bite back, his stance clearly stating that he was furious with the blonde.

"Not this again! Acting how, Potter? Acting like I have for the past seven years we've known each other?" Draco sneered and Harry flinched at the statement. At first Draco could have sworn that the Gryffindor was blushing, but he brushed it away when he turned away from Draco, facing the general direction of the bedroom. Walking away from the confrontation, Draco couldn't help but let out the breath he had been holding when Harry held the door to the bedroom open and begun to walk into the room to get ready for school. His small victory was short lived, however, when the Gryffindor turned to face him slightly, looking at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Acting like you care about me one minute and going back to hating me the next," Harry said softly before going into the room and closing the door softly behind him. Startled, Draco could only stared at the closed door silently while his right hand reached out to grasp at the sofa that was right beside him as if to anchor him to the reality that he felt was slowly slipping away from him.

"I wonder about that too," Draco found himself whispering to the now empty room.

hp...dm

"I don't know how to get through to him. I mean, it's like he's one person one minute and another the next," Harry huffed as he ran his right hand through his hair in frustration. Hermione, who was sitting next to him just looked at him with barely disguised amusement as she watched one of her best friend pace in front of her. As the cold November wind blew towards the small group, Hermione found herself reaching forward to catch Harry's hand as he crossed in front of her and pulled him to sit beside her on the ground, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Sighing softly, Harry let her be and placed his head on her shoulder, taking both the comfort and the heat provided by her as she rubbed his arm soothingly.

The trio was on their way towards the Great Hall to return to their respective apartment for dinner when they bumped into Draco whom Harry had not seen all day. Remembering the events of that morning, Harry looked away; the feeling of hurt and embarrassment still raw. Seeing this, Draco automatically sneered at Harry. One look at Draco's sneer and Harry couldn't help but turn around and walked out towards the lake. He was somehow confused at the anger as well as sadness that were bubbling out of him at the supposable usual behavior from the blonde. While Hermione had rushed out to Harry's side at an instance, Ron followed her from behind at a slightly slower pace, just observing the situation from afar while knowing exactly what it was that was going through Harry's mind. Once outside, he was instantly hit by a gust of cold air and the sight of Harry throwing random rocks into the lake with Hermione sitting on the ground behind him.

"Why are you being so uptight about all of this? I mean you usually just ignore it," Hermione asked and smiled slightly when she felt him stiffed slightly beside her.

"I do. I mean, I don't. It's just that I'm living with the bastard now and whether I like it or not, I at least have to pretend to care. After the whole hospital thing, it's just, I don't know, weird not to," Harry mumbled slightly after a small pause, gazing at the lake with a faraway look. Gently untangling himself from Hermione's warm embrace, Harry then pushed himself up and walked closer to the lake, the memories from the past few weeks suddenly rushing to the surface.

"I don't know why but somehow, I don't feel like I used to. All this animosity between us, it's just not worth the effort anymore. I guess Dumbledore was right about this one," Harry said again.

"What brought this on, Harry? Why now?" Hermione prodded gently, knowing that Harry somehow needs to get all of it off his chest.

At first, Hermione wasn't sure that he would tell them anything, figuring that he was still coming to term with everything that had happened. Looking from her perspective, what had happened between the two of them for that short few weeks; the unconscious feeling of trust and mutual understanding that had somehow been exchanged between the two of them, had been a huge turnover from the dynamics of their previous relationship. He didn't know it yet, but Hermione somehow had the feeling that something happened between them that morning that changed the way Harry felt about the blonde, although neither of them know in what way it changed.

"When I saw him there, drenched in his own blood, I couldn't help but remember how I never wanted anyone to be in that position ever again. After _him_, I never thought I could be so riled up seeing something that I've seen so much of during the war happening to someone that I was supposed to hate."

"But then I remember that this isn't just someone. This person, in one way or another had somehow been apart of my life. Starting on the opposite side of the room in Madame Malkins, various classrooms during our seven years in Hogwarts, the quidditch pitch to catch that small, blasted golden ball, to beside me during the war to fight with me, in the hypermarket to shop for food with me and later, on the bed, holding me while I was sick. Looking back at all this, somehow I realized that I can't just ignore this, whatever _this_ is," Harry said, hugging himself close, almost as if he was talking to himself and forgetting the company he was with as he tried to piece the puzzle that was scattered around in front of him.

"Then stop fighting it," another voice piped up from beside him and Harry jolted out of his thoughts, turning to look at the source of the voice. Forgetting that there was a third member of their small party, Harry just stared at Ron, who had been leaning against a tree near where he was standing.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked with a puzzled voice.

"Stop fighting it. You can't fight fire with fire all the time, Harry," Ron said simply, pushing himself away from the tree to stand in front of him with his arms folded across his chest, a small smile, not unlike the one Hermione was sporting earlier, playing on his lips. "Sometimes all it takes to show someone who's been hurt for so long is just a little bit of patience and a lot of compassion. Make him see that whatever it was that he thought he lost is somehow right there in front of him, if only he stop and look."

And with that, Ron walked away, leaving a very confused Harry in his wake.

hp...dm

"Dinner," he said shortly without looking up from whatever it was that he was reading as soon as Harry stepped out from the fireplace.

"Shove off, Malfoy. I know what needs to be done," Harry snapped while his right hand roughly tugging at his tie. Finally coming loose around his fingers, he then tossed it on the sofa, barely missing the blonde. Ignoring the raised eyebrow of the Slytherin, Harry made his way into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

Using more strength than necessary, Harry forcefully pulled the refrigerator door open and began to pull out things randomly. Realizing that he had somehow pulled out all the ingredients to make a simple Italian dinner, he finally set out to cook that night's dinner.

An hour after setting off into the task, Harry finally sighed softly as he watched the sauce to the pasta come to a gentle boil before putting out the fire. Setting out everything that is needed for the meal, Harry then decided to make a cup of tea before dinner to calm off his nerves. What Ron had said a few hours before had somehow managed to stay in his head through the preparation of the meal and Harry was slowly getting tired of the endless possibilities of the meaning behind the words. What Hermione had asked before too had managed to stay with him, about why it was bothering him now after for so long. But most of all, it was what he had said in return that puzzled him the most.

So caught up in his thoughts, Harry failed to notice the cup filling up with the boiling water until it literally overflowed and trailed down from the counter. Only when the hot water finally came in contact with his left foot did he felt the burning sensation and dropped the kettle, which was still half full, with a loud clatter, making more hot water spill onto the kitchen floor.

"Fuck!" Harry swore as he realized that the whole of his left foot was now soaked in hot water. Barely realizing that his eyes was watering from the intense pain of being scorched, Harry had only a moment's notice that he was being lifted up from the floor and was being carried into the bathroom. Looking up, he realized that Draco's pale face was even paler as he hurried the two of them into the bathroom, gently placed Harry into a sitting position at the edge of the tub with his feet placed underneath the tabs and finally running the cold water on low directly on top of Harry's scorched foot. Winching slightly at the sudden contact, Harry soon sigh in relief as the pain started to decreased.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Potter! Do you actually _like_ to hurt yourself because that's the pattern I've been seeing since we moved into this forsaken place! If you do want to hurt yourself then please, do tell me and I'll gladly punch your face for you!" Draco yelled as he stood behind Harry with his hands flying everywhere with every word. Pacing the few feet that made up the bathroom, Harry couldn't help but glanced at him in amusement as he kept mumbling underneath his breath, completely forgetting about who he was or whom he was with. Looking at him like this, realization finally dawned on Harry that he had never seen the Slytherin Prince being so ruffled up over something so miniscule.

"Malfoy, relax, it's nothing. It's just a slight burn. It'll be fine in a few minutes," Harry coaxed gently.

"Nothing my arse," Draco said with a huff as he finally sighed and stop pacing, taking a seat on top of the closed toilet seat. Rubbing his hands over his face, he then peered into the still running tub to look at Harry's now slightly red foot. "Are you alright?"

At this, Harry studied the blonde's actions. Although he appeared uncaring, Harry could see some of the panic and _worry_ the blond was feeling peaked through the mask he had erected; just like the first time they went to the supermarket, thought the feeling being showed was opposite. The ruffled state of the usually immaculate hair as well as the slightly flushed face of the blond was somehow making a small smile appear at the corner of his mouth and suddenly what Ron had said to him that afternoon played over in his head.

"_Sometimes all it takes to show someone who's been hurt for so long is just a little bit of patience and a lot of compassion. Make him see that whatever it was that he thought he lost is somehow right there in front of him, if only he stop and look."_

And when the blond finally looked up to meet the green orbs of Harry's, he finally realize that he _doesn't_ want to keep fighting it, having been doing it for the past years and finally, finally growing tired of it. Smiling softly at him, Harry answered the question the only way he knows how.

"Never better."

hp...dm

It was the first time Harry had ever stepped into Severus' private office since the two of them became close.

Stepping into the slightly shaded room, Harry watched as Severus walked towards the window and pulled the curtains back, illuminating the room with the soft glow of the full moon outside. Motioning Harry to enter further the room, he then walked towards the fireplace at the other end of the room, slightly away from both the wall-length window as well as the bookcase. Closing the door behind him, Harry then walked towards the long study table underneath the window and smiled at the vase he saw on the table with a dozen or so red roses resting within it.

"Roses Sev?" Harry teased and Severus scowled.

"It was your sister," Severus answered shortly and Harry couldn't help but smiled at that. Ever since Severus and Hermione had come out to him about seeing one another, the Potion Master had taken to calling Hermione Harry's sister since the two could rarely be seen apart from one another. It started with Ron, who was always busy with the Headmaster, and because of that, it was all Harry could do not to let Hermione out of his sight, out of the fear that he could loose her too.

His attention was drawn towards the three frames that were resting next to each other at the side of the table, right next to the vase. The first one, which was adorn in rich brown, was a smiling face of Hermione, looking up at him from underneath a large tan hat. In the background, Harry could see himself and Ron racing each other towards the blue water of the sea, barely noticing the picture of them being taken from afar. Harry snorted at the photo. He remembered the day very well.

It was about a year ago, during their summer of their fifth year. It was a few weeks after Hermione had told him about the relationship she had with the Potion Master. To sum it all up, neither Ron nor himself was very please with the news and was quite bitter about the whole situation. After a week of trading harsh words from the two boys to the older man, Hermione finally had enough and suggested that the four of them retreat to a beach for a day. Not taking 'no' for an answer, the rest of the group grudgingly agreed, after much persuasion on Hermione's part. It wasn't as much as what happened at the beach that had amused Harry so but the persuasion part that been the highlight of the trip. Needless to say that Severus had never denied Hermione anything after that incident.

"I'm glad that at least one person can find something amusing about that picture," Severus drawled and Harry looked up at him while throwing the older man a grin, saying nothing in return.

Looking at the second frame, Harry assumed that it was a picture of Malfoy when he was a boy. Having a background of what Harry assumed to be Malfoy Manor and barely two years old, Harry smiled slightly as he watched the boy in the picture chased a small, white rabbit across the frame but fell to his knees halfway through it. Almost instantly, the boy in the picture then sniffed slightly before crying full force. A moment later, a man with black hair entered the picture and took him into his arms, gently coaxing the boy to stop crying. The picture then looped from the beginning again.

"My godson," Severus answered his unvoiced question. At this, Harry nodded his head.

The third frame was quite a shocker to him as Harry reached out and plucked it off the table. The black frame held a picture of Ron and himself, laughing together, arm around each other while their faces was covered with chocolate icing. In the background, Harry could see a banner hanging over the table, vivid colors of red and gold spelling out 'Happy Birthday, Harry'. Mounts of wrapping paper could also be seen littering around the both of them on the table, where ruin birthday cake lay.

"I didn't even realize this was taken," Harry said out loud.

"I never intended you to," Severus replied softly. Looking up, Harry was quite surprised to see him standing behind him, looking at him with a soft gaze.

"What-" Harry asked but stopped himself. He wanted to ask why this picture was here, amiss the picture of the ones that Severus obviously cared about but somehow, he couldn't voice it out.

Plucking out the picture from Harry's hand, Severus then gazed at the picture fondly and placed it back on the table on between the other two pictures. Looking back at Harry, he then placed his right hand on Harry's shoulder and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"No matter what I did or what I said, the two of you are like the sons I never had," he said simply and with such sincerity that Harry was blown away.

When Hermione first told him about her relationship with Severus, the first thing Harry had asked was why. The reply was: _'He has this tendency about him that make you feel like there's nobody in the world but you and nobody in the world matters as much as you do'_. At that time, neither Ron nor himself had understood what she meant and left it at that but as he gazed up at the man in front of him, he finally understand what she was talking about. Pulling the man into a tight hug, Harry could do nothing but thank him.


	13. Of Skating Rink and Candy Floss

**Disclaimer: **Since when are they mine?

**Parings**: Draco/Harry (that mean's SLASH people!); Implied: Severus/Hermione (Mild!), Ron/Hermione. (later. _Much _later.)

**Rating: **R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note**: Hey, I'm back!!! I am SO sorry that this took almost like forever for me to update!! So, just to make it up to you, I've written this chapter twice as long. Just so you know, there's a _mild_ cliffhanger in this chapter. But, other than that, I have good news. The next chapter is done and for all of you who had waited patiently for me to reveal who Adrian is, it's coming up in the next chapter. Honest!! So… review and I might just put it up faster than I intended to. Oh, btw, I think it's because I haven't written to her in awhile but my beta's email suddenly went poof! So, I need a new one. Is anyone out there interested? Oh yeah, the song in this chater is _'The way' by Clay Aiken. _Read and Review please!!!!!

**Status: Unbetaed **so I'm so sorry! Reposted. Anymore mistakes (obviously there's a lot…), please let me know.

**Beta: **None. Looking though. Anyone interested please let me know. Email me kay.

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_Chapter 12_

_Of Skating Rink and Candy Floss_

'_So now that we've established that we feel something more than hatred towards the Spawn of Satan, what are we going to do exactly?'_ Harry asked himself as he stared at the back of Draco's head during Transfiguration, three days after the hot water incident. It was his final class before lunch on a Friday and it was all Harry could do not to run back to his old dorm and hide underneath the cover to avoid facing the blonde.

For the past three days, he had been an endless source of amusement for both Ron and Hermione. Going back and forth between hatred and what he now identified as a 'small, miniscule crush', he had all but bolted out of any room when he realized that Draco was in the same room as he was. He had even gone as far as staying over at Ron's place, only flooing back to his apartment when he was on the border of passing out from exhaustion. It wasn't until late last night when Hermione had enough of his antics and had knock some sense into him that he _finally_ - although albeit reluctantly - admit that he, in fact, have a 'small, miniscule crush' on the blonde.

"Before all of you scurry off to lunch, I have some good news. It seems as if Professor Yohanna has caught the flu so this afternoon's Muggle Study class of is canceled," Professor McGonagall announced and smiled slightly as the whole class in general whooped at the prospect of starting their weekend early that week.

"This is great! Now Hermione can take me to that thing she calls the 'movers' or something tonight!" Ron exclaimed.

"What movers? Are you two moving somewhere or something?" Harry asked, confused.

"No mate. It's those things you go to, to watch a bigger version of that TV thing," Ron replied, still grinning and Harry burst out laughing.

"Oh, you mean movies. Honestly Ron, how you survived living with Hermione this long and her not going bonkers around you is beyond me," Harry snickered and Ron laughed.

"Hey, why don't you come with? At least I'll have someone else I can ask without sounding like a total idiot all the time in front of her," Ron asked and before Harry could reply, Professor McGonagall called for everyone's attention once again.

"I'm afraid that with all good news, there are a couple of bad ones. The first is that the floo network will be down until Monday for maintenance purposes starting today from 8 p.m. The Ministry send their deepest apologies to all of you for that," Professor McGonagall said and Ron groaned at that.

"Well, that answers your question," Harry said with a slight disappointment in his tone.

"Too bad, mate. Now you have to spend the rest of the weekend with Malfoy," Ron replied and Harry nodded his head with remorse.

"The second bad news is that although Professor Yohanna is unable to tech you today, she did leave your weekend assignment to be completed. It is due for this coming Monday," Professor McGonagall said as she waved her wand and a piece of blank parchment appeared in front of every students. "Your assignment for this weekend consists of one question that you need to ask each other. The question is to help you to write an essay that Professor Yohanna has previously informed you off. Because of this, before you leave for your apartment for the weekend, you are required to obtain your potion or plants from either Professor White or Professor Sprout. The question will appear when _both_ of you have taken the potion or eaten the plant," Professor McGonagall explained. As soon as she finished her explanation, the bell rang.

"And I thought that we would be able to have a fun filled, free of assignment weekend," Ron grumbled as he began packing his stuff making Harry chuckled slightly beside him.

"Well, we aren't required to leave the school immediately so how bout you stay for awhile and keep me company before I have to leave and spend the rest of my weekend with the Spawn of Satan," Harry suggested, making Ron laughed full out at the nickname for the Slytherin.

"Well, considering I'm not the one that is living with the said Spawn of Satan and have this huge crush on him on top of that, I think I'll just give you a break and do just that," Ron snickered as he watched Harry blushed.

"I do not have a _huge_ crush on him. Just a tiny, miniscule one," Harry mumbled. Walking out of the classroom with Ron still laughing behind him, they then paused just outside of the classroom to wait for Hermione before walking to the Great Hall.

"Hey 'Mione, I'm gonna keep Harry company for awhile here at school before he has to leave for his apartment tonight so I'm not gonna be home till around seven. Are we still going to the movies tonight?" Ron asked as the three of them walked towards the Great Hall after Hermione have joined them.

"Yeah, we are. There's this one movie that I've been meaning to watch. Since you and Harry will be spending some buddy-buddy time this afternoon, I'll just head down to the movie theater for a bit and buy the tickets before hand," Hermione said before looking at Harry with something akin to amusement. "Sorry bout you not being able to come with us, Harry. Maybe you could do something with Draco this weekend, just the two of you."

At this, Harry made a face that caused both of them to laugh at him once again. "Sure, sure, laugh at me why don't you. It's not like I have any other purposes left in this world other than to entertain you with my lack of love life," Harry said sarcastically as the three of them entered the Great Hall and sat at their respective places for lunch.

* * *

"You're late," was the first thing that came out of Draco's mouth when Harry stepped out of the fireplace. Shrugging slightly, Harry dropped his backpack on the couch before joining Draco to sit on the carpeted floor and leaned back against the said couch. It was when he finally registered what was on the coffee table in front of Draco that he realized how hungry he was.

"How the hell you managed to call for a Chinese takeout!" Harry exclaimed when he realized that it was Chinese takeout carton that held the food he smelled upon sitting down. At this, Draco looked up from the book he was reading to raised an eyebrow at him.

"I am not completely hopeless as you think, Potter," Draco replied and for once, Harry realized that the usual malice that was always present in his voice was absent this time. Even long after Draco had gone back to reading the book, Harry stared at the top of his head wondering what else had changed between them. All of the sudden, the idea that he and Ron had been cocking up the past hour doesn't seem so stupid anymore. Not when it could give him some answers.

He was about to ask the blond about the weekend when he suddenly realized that Draco was smirking slightly at the book he was reading. "What?" he asked suddenly. Shaking his head slightly, Draco looked up from the book and pushed a few unopened cartons towards him. Without another word, he then return to reading the book while skillfully maneuvered the chopstick into his mouth without looking up from the book.

Picking up the carton of Chinese takeout that was closest to him, Harry opened it and looked at it in amazement. It was his favorite food on the menu and for the life of him, Harry couldn't figure out how Draco had known. Looking alternately from the food on his lap and to the reading blonde, Harry chuckled slightly and before he knew it, he was placing the food back on the table and gently plucked the book out of Draco's grasp to look at the cover.

"Why, pray tell, are you doing?" Draco drawled.

"I was just trying to get your attention away from this book you're reading. Did it work?" Harry smirked as the closed the book shut and tossed it aside on the far end of the couch behind him.

"Obviously," Draco replied. Now that his hands were unoccupied, he then proceeded to eat his meal properly.

"Listen, you know about the whole assignment thing? I was thinking about going somewhere and fooling around the city before talking. It might get us to loosen up and actually _trust_ one another for a bit," Harry started without looking at them Slytherin but opted to play around with his food instead.

"Why Potter, I didn't think you'd be that daring; suggesting such a thing but don't we actually need a _bed_ to fool around in," Draco grinned and watched in amusement as Harry visibly stuttered.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Harry mumbled, causing the blonde to grin wider. "Anyways, Ron and I stayed behind at school today and he suggested that I take you out to see what the muggle world is really like. It's partly to thank you for taking care of me while I was sick and partly to make you realize that the muggle world isn't that bad," Harry explained and then proceeded to shove the food into his mouth while waiting for the blonde to thought things over.

"Where exactly do you want to take me?" he asked cautiously after a few minutes.

"I don't know where the place is exactly but my pilot can tell you where when we land," Harry said, trying to remember the place but failing.

"Pilot?"

"Oh, it's a person that basically fly the jet you and I will be taking. The jet being this huge, flying muggle contraption thing that takes you from one place to another, really, really fast," Harry explained.

"And you would have this jet on standby how exactly?" Draco questioned and Harry visibly squirmed slightly at the question.

"I rather not talk about it. So, are you in or out?" Harry replied. The next few minutes of waiting, Harry tried not to show his eagerness too much so he then tried to act nonchalant as he continued to eat the food quietly.

"Oh, sure," Draco answered at a small eternity and Harry couldn't help but beamed at the answer.

* * *

"Two adults please," Harry said to the girl that was managing the ticket counter. Paying the amount needed, Harry then said his thanks to the girl before walking back to where Draco was standing, studying the poster for the upcoming Spiderman 3 movie.

"Spiderman? I'm sure Weasley's a big fan," Draco drawled as soon as Harry was standing beside him while nodding towards the poster. At first, Harry didn't get what the blonde was talking about but after glancing at the title – _Spider_man – once again, Harry burst out laughing.

"Oh, _Spider_man! I never thought of it that way. Great idea Draco; I should tell Hermione to bring him watch this movie when it comes out, although spiders aren't generally the whole point of the movie," Harry laughed as he shook his head at the whole silliness of the topic of conversation.

"What movie are _we_ watching anyway?" Draco asked as he fully turned away from the poster to face Harry. Handing him the tickets, Harry pointed to the title of the movie that was printed on the ticket stubs.

"We're watching Eragon (did I spelled that right? You know, the movie, not the character from LOTR). It's about this boy named Eragon who's a dragon rider or something. I thought it might be interesting to watch. If not, at least it's about something that you know very well of, Dragon of Bad Faith," Harry teased as he led Draco towards the refreshment line.

"What I'm even more interested in is how you managed to find out what my full name means exactly," Draco retorted as he raised his left eyebrow slightly making Harry chuckled lightly.

"You don't spend every day with the smartest witch in our year for almost seven years and not pick up a few things along the way," Harry replied simply. Before Draco could reply however, the casher bid them forward to place their order.

"Hi. I would like one set of Combo C and two hotdogs please. Thanks," Harry ordered as Draco watched from beside him, slightly confused.

"What the hell did you just ordered?" Draco asked, watching the casher moved around to put together their order at the other side of the counter.

"Basically I ordered 2 large coke, one large popcorn and 2 hotdogs," Harry said and a few minutes later, he paid the casher, picked up his orders and walked towards the door entrance labeled '1' with Draco following behind him, holding his coke and looking at it with interest.

"C'mon, the movie should start soon," Harry said as he motioned Draco to enter the slightly dark hall. Maneuvering in the dark, Harry soon found their seat at the very back of the room and sat down.

"Here, place your drink on the cup holder," Harry instructed while placing his drink on the cup holder at his other side and placing the foods on his lap. Draco – his eyes finally adjusting to the dark – decided to take a sip of the drink and spluttered at the slightly sharp and biting taste of the drink.

"What the fuck did I just put in my mouth?!" Draco exclaimed, making everyone who was sitting near them snickered at the statement.

"Shut up," Harry hissed. "It's coke, you idiot."

"Coke?"

"It's a type carbonated drink. It's great once you get the hang of the sharp tastes," Harry explained briefly and pulled out the hotdogs, holding one out to Draco. "Here. Now just shut up and eat the bloody hotdog before the movie starts."

"How barbaric! I'm not about to eat some dog," Draco said with a disgusted voice and shoving the food back to Harry. Although slightly annoyed at the blonde's behavior, Harry couldn't help but laugh at his apparent naivety of anything muggle.

"Draco, do you really think that I would eat anything that was made out of dog meat? Even saying it out loud makes me want to vomit. It's just sausage wedge between a long bun. It's an American delicacy. Just try it will you," Harry said patiently and handed Draco back the food. Taking it grudgingly, he then opened up the box and looked inside to find exactly what Harry had said he would.

"These muggle really need to find names for food that does not lead one to think it was something else entirely. _Sand_wich, _chips_, hot_dogs_. Honestly, they would soon name a chocolate bar something dreadful like the planet Mars or something," Draco commented as he took a bite of his hotdog. Harry just smiled sideways at him, not even bothering to inform him that there _are_ chocolate bars calls Mars Bars. As the lights completely dimmed and the movie starts, Harry couldn't help but anticipate how the rest of the day might turn out.

* * *

"What do you want to do next?" Harry asked while he followed Draco towards the more quiet part of town after the movie finally ended.

"Anything is better than that lame movie about that stupid dragon. Honestly, can you really point out to me _one_ bloody dragon that would let _anybody_ ride its back like that? Bloody muggle imagination," Draco mumbled under his breath as he kept walking.

"You're right; I'm sure Charlie Weasley would say the same thing if he watched the movie too. Oh well, at least they got down the basics of the dragon down correctly," Harry said.

"Are you kidding me? Dragons are supposed to be _menacing_. That, back there, was anything _but_ menacing," Draco replied and at this, Harry had to laugh. Walking slightly behind Draco, Harry began to wander once again where they were heading to.

Looking around him, Harry couldn't help but walk faster towards Draco and followed the blonde so closely that they were practically running into each other. The quietness of the place somehow reminded him of the ally Draco had been stabbed at. Draco, obviously sensing Harry's distress, reached out to grasp Harry's hand to pull him further along the street, making Harry slightly surprised at his actions.

"Don't worry, I know the place. It's just a bit further up," Draco replied without looking back at Harry. A little relieved that Draco seems to know his way around that part of town – although he was slightly puzzled as _how_ the blonde knew – he let Draco lead the way and just followed silently.

After a few blocks, Draco finally stopped in front of a somewhat closed off building and let go of Harry's hand. Studying the apparent desertedness of the building, Harry noticed that the building was somewhat neatly kept for an abandon one. At the sound of jingling of keys, Harry looked in front of him to find Draco unlocking the front door and then indicated that Harry should follow him.

Entering the dark, hollow building with only a small ray of light from a tiny, closed window at the top of the building, Harry looked around but failed to see anything further than a few feet in front of him, even less so when Draco closed the door shut behind him and locking the door once again. Although it was dark, Harry could feel the chill of cold air from inside the room but he could not pin point where it was coming from.

"You didn't bring me to this place to kill me, did you?" Harry joked nervously, looking at the blonde.

"So what if I did?" Draco smirked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and stalked towards Harry slowly; making Harry step back with every step Draco took.

"Quit fooling around, Draco," Harry said, starting to feel nervous. At that, Draco burst out laughing.

"This is hilarious! You really thought that I was going to kill you?" Draco chuckled and Harry glared at him.

"Well, how the hell should I know?! The atmosphere here suggests two things; either you were going to kill me or shag me and the first option seems more likely to me!" Harry snapped as Draco continued to chuckle.

Shaking his head, Draco then turned around and walked back to the closed door. "Trust me Potter, after spending about a month in your company, the second option is more likely to happen then the first," Draco called back before hitting on the lights.

At first view of the whole room, Harry has somehow missed the whole meaning behind the words that Draco had uttered as he gaped at the massive ice skating rink that has suddenly materialized in front of him. Stepping a few feet forward, Harry then looked back towards Draco who had a smirk on his face.

"That explains why it was so cold in here?" Harry said out loud. Nodding his head, Draco then walked towards where Harry was standing and looked at the sea of smooth ice in front of them.

"I wanted to bring you here when I realized that the movie theater was only a few blocks away from this place. I bought this place about a few months ago, right after Severus died. It is closed but I still paid the staff to run it as if it was still open for public use," Draco explained shortly.

"No wonder it look so well kept for an abandon place," Harry said and Draco nodded once again.

"When father found out, he pointed out that it was a waste of money since it doesn't generate any income at all but it requires a lot of galleons to maintain. When I told him why, he basically kept quiet and let me have my way," Draco said.

"Why do you want it though?" Harry asked suddenly. For awhile, Draco kept quiet but then, he turned to look at Harry and gestured for Harry to follow him.

"C'mon," he said without answering the question.

Draco then led the two of them towards the shelves of skates where he proceeded to grab a pair of skates at the very top of the shelves that was unlike the rest. Pulling off his trainers, he then began to pull the skates on and tying the laces together tightly. Harry just stood there, near the old reception desk, looking somewhat lost.

"Grab a pair of skates, Potter. I'm sure there's one big enough to fit your big feet back there, somewhere," Draco taunted with a grin without looking up, making Harry blush.

"Erm, I… I don't know how to skate," Harry mumbled, ignoring the comment about his shoe size. Finishing up the laces of both his skates, Draco then pushed himself up and smirked at Harry.

"I know," he said before walking towards the ice.

It took Harry about three tries to find a pair of skates that he deemed comfortable enough to wear. It took a further 10 minutes for him to wear them correctly and for him to finish tying up the laces. After all that was done, he was left with one final problem.

"How the hell am I suppose to walk in this thing?!" Harry exclaimed to himself when he realized that he was still a few feet from the ice. It was then that he heard another laugh coming in the direction of the rink.

"Let's go, Potter. Don't tell me you can't pick yourself up and walk here? What have you been doing all this time with those big feet of yours?" Draco yelled from the other side of the room.

"Will you lay off my feet?!" Harry yelled back, earning another round of laughter from Draco. Harry then tried to push himself off the bench once again and this time, he managed to stand on his own. Walking, rather unsteadily at that, towards the outer edge of the rink, Harry then looked at the mass of solid ice in front of him and began to silently question his sanity for agreeing to put on the skates in the first place.

"The ice is not going to open up and swallow you, Potter. You should know that by now," a voice said, close to his ears and Harry jumped slightly at that. Looking up, he saw that Draco had somehow gotten off the ice and was standing behind him.

"I gathered that, you dolt! What are you doing off the ice anyway?" Harry snapped, embarrass. All of a sudden, music filled the atmosphere, a song Harry recognized. "Hey, I know this song!"

"I love this song," Draco replied and with that, he pushed himself from the outer edge of the rink and skated to the middle of the ice without looking back, leaving Harry a bit stunned at the impromptu confession. "Move, Potter," he said as he gracefully did a full circle to face Harry, his right hand outstretched.

_There's something bout the way you look tonight_

_There's something bout the way that I can't take my eyes of you_

_There's something bout the way your lips invite_

_Maybe it's the way that I get nervous when you're around_

_And I want you to be mine_

_And if you need a reason why…_

At first, Harry looked at the ice skeptically, doubting that he could perform the same way Draco had on his first try. Never really learned how to skate before, Harry tried to place his right foot first on the ice and tried to balance himself on the slippery surface. Finding himself still standing upright, he then positioned the other foot in, while bracing most of his weight on his arms on top of the barrier. Gripping the wooden barrier tightly as if his life depended on it, Harry tried shifting the weight back to his feet instead of his arms. It wasn't as easy as Draco made it out to be and he quickly found himself to be sitting on the ice instead.

"I seriously have no idea why people do this for fun. This is the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life!" Harry growled in frustration as he glared at Draco who still hasn't moved from his position at the middle of the rink. Realizing that the blonde would not help him at all, Harry then hoisted himself back up on shaky legs before trying again with the whole balancing thing. One again, he fell.

_It's in the way that you move me_

_And the way that you tease me_

_The way that I want you tonight_

_It's in the way that you hold me_

_And the way that you know me_

_And when I can't find the right words to say_

_You feel it in the way_

"Balance, Potter. It's like riding your broom but with your feet instead," he heard Draco called out.

"Easy for you to say, you've done this like a million times," Harry mumbled under his breath before pulling himself up once again. After three more times and failing all three times, Harry has had enough.

"That's it, I've had enough! My ass is completely numb and I seriously hate the feeling," Harry yelled in the direction of the blonde before pulling himself up and pulled himself towards the exit of the rink using the barrier as his guide. It was then that Draco skated towards him to stand right in between Harry and the exit.

"Move, Malfoy," Harry growled but Draco just shook his head and extended his hand once again. Harry sighed in annoyance.

"Malfoy, I seriously have no clue how to skate and as you can see, I've fallen flat on my behind enough times to crack the thick ice. I just seriously want to sit down on something _soft_ right now," Harry said.

"I'll teach you. Take my hand," Draco stated quietly, right hand still outstretched like the first time they were offered to him from the middle of the rink. Looking into Draco's eyes right there and then, Harry realized there was something sincere and some sort of a desperate _longing_ that took Harry's breath away, just for a moment.

_There's something bout how you stay on my mind_

_There's something bout the way that I whisper your name when I'm asleep_

_Maybe it's the look you get in your eyes_

_Oh baby it's the way that makes me feel to see you smile_

_And the reasons they may change_

_But what I'm feeling stays the same_

"Come on, let go," Draco said softly as he held out his hand for Harry to take as he glided forward just a bit. Harry looked from the offered hand to back up at the slightly smiling face of the blonde. At first, he hesitated but then, Harry cautiously placed his right hand in Draco's outstretched ones. Slowly, Harry fully let go of the barrier, his grip on Draco's hand tightening slightly as he did so.

Draco then slowly skated backwards and pulled Harry along with him while his other hand grasped Harry's left one so that they were joined together. At first, Harry stumbled and there were a few times that he'd nearly fell forward but Draco had always managed to steady him, making sure that he didn't fall.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall," Draco said tenderly and slowly, Harry learned to stand on the ice while moving. Slowly, he was skating.

As Draco pulled him further towards the middle of the ice, Harry felt as if he really was flying, just like Draco had said. Harry's grip on Draco's hand slowly loosens but when Draco tried to withdraw his hands away, Harry quickly griped it tightly once again.

"Don't let go," Harry found himself whispering while looking up at the taller teen's soft gaze. But Draco did let his left hand go and Harry though that he was going to abandon Harry in the middle of the rink but then, Draco skated behind him, circling his waist with his arms and gently but firmly hugged him from behind.

"I won't," Draco whispered against his cheek and Harry felt more than heard the words being spoken to him. Thrusting the blonde completely, he then closed his eyes and leaned back against the solid form of the other man.

_It's in the way that you move me_

_And the way that you tease me_

_The way that I want you tonight_

_It's in the way that you hold me_

_And the way that you know me_

_And when I can't find the right words to say_

_You feel it in the way_

Draco smiled as he felt Harry surrender himself completely to him. Letting go of the other hand, Draco then brought forth both his arms around Harry's narrow waist and hug him tightly from behind while he continued to push them forward, skating around the rink. The music he had played earlier continued to play in the background and Draco realized that for once in a long time, he felt as he was floating on air. Holding Harry like this, just the two of them without reservation, it was intoxicating and he could feel himself drowning with only Harry as his lifeline. It was right there and then that Draco realized that his feelings towards the Gryffindor had changed but for the life of him, he couldn't distinguish what his feeling had changed _to_.

"_Draco…"_ he heard Harry's breathless whisper and as Harry turned his face towards him, Draco saw Harry's eyes fluttered open. Draco's breath caught in his throat as he gazed into Harry's lush, green eyes. Unable to stop himself, he then leaned forward slightly and brushed their lips together.

_I can't put my fingers on just what it is that makes me love you_

_So don't ask me to describe, I get all choked up inside_

_Just thinking bout the way..._

At the first contact of their lips, Harry's eyes fluttered close again and he felt everything around him melt away that he had to grip the arms that was around him to ensure that he wouldn't fall away – to ensure him _this_ was really happening. This feather light, wonderfully gentle, heart-stopping kiss was _real_. He didn't want it to end, never wanting it to stop but then, he felt Draco slowly pulled away, breaking the kiss.

"No," Harry protested softly and was about to pull Draco back into the kiss when a voice nears the door penetrated through their safe heaven.

"Mister Malfoy?" the voice said and both of them turned towards the voice. A man in his mid thirties came into view and Harry felt Draco sigh behind him.

"Yes, it's me Lance," Draco said softly and Harry could have sworn that he heard an underlying hint of sadness in his voice. With a final squeeze, Draco then let go of Harry and skated beside him, gently pulling Harry by the hand towards the edge of the rink.

"Oh, sorry there Sir, I thought that someone broke in like the last time," Lance said as he walked towards the two of them.

"It's fine; I didn't inform you I was coming either. We were just leaving," Draco replied and Harry could feel his heart drop a little at those words. Draco, as if sensing the sadness in Harry, shot him a small smile and with a brief squeeze of his hand, Draco let go.

"Alright then. I just came by to check how everything was doing anyway. I'll leave you too it then," Lance said and with a final nod to Draco, he turned around and exited through the door that Draco and Harry had gone through earlier.

For awhile after that, Draco was oddly silent as he walked back to where their stuff was. When he reached for the remote on the table to turn off the music, Harry found that the atmosphere too suddenly became still. Sitting down on the same bench he had previously sat on, Harry watched the blond took a seat on the bench next to him to untie his laces and pulled the skates off.

"Draco…" Harry began but Draco then stood up, the skates in his hands and walked towards where he had kept his shoes.

"What's next on your agenda today, Potter?" Draco asked casually and Harry felt something in him squeezed a little at the nonchalant way Draco had said it. As if nothing had happened just now. Looking away from the blonde, Harry then began to untie his skates slowly. It wasn't until he felt a soft, chased kiss on his head did he look up, only to find that Draco had walked away towards the door.

Feeling somewhat content, if not a little bit relieved, Harry quickly pulled off the skates to continue the day.

The both of them then walked towards the better part of the town in a relative silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts about what had happened earlier.

Harry, on his part, was content with letting the blonde figure out his next move quietly, taking the shots as they come. Harry had a feeling the other man had not even realized the exact ramification it had on Harry, thinking it was a spontaneous act of 'passion' instead of wanting something long term.

"What's next, Potter?" Draco asked, breaking Harry's momentarily relapse into his head causing him to reply with the standard 'Huh?'. At this, Draco smirked slightly at the somewhat off behavior from the teen. "I asked you where you're taking me next."

"Erm, the amusement park, I guess. I wanted to take you there after the movies but since you took me to the ice rink instead, well…" Harry trailed off. Nodding his head, Draco then walked towards the general direction of the amusement park. It was about a few minutes walk and at the first sight of the park, Harry's face practically glowed as he reached out to grasp the blonde's hand and pulled him into a run towards it.

* * *

After about three hours of running around and going on every rides imaginable and playing the games scattered around the amusement park …

"_Bloody hell, I think I can still feel my stomach settling down back at it's proper position after that last ride," Harry exclaimed when the both of them got off the space shots._

"_I have no idea why the bloody muggles in front of you were screaming like a banshee. That ride's nothing compared when you're flying around during Quidditch at high speed," Draco drawled, watching as the said muggle walked away, rather unsteadily while clutching each other, from the ride._

"_One word out of you, Potter about those blasted moles, I swear I am going to knock _your_ head off instead!" Draco growled as Harry shoved the stuff lion he had won from competing against Draco at one of the booth games towards the blonde._

"_I cannot believe you beat me at the shooting duck game thingy!" Harry yelled and Draco just smiled smugly as he picked out the stuffed dragon as his prize for winning against Harry. _

"What is that?" Draco asked curiously as he watched Harry paid some muggle in a red and white stripe suit and the man, in return, gave Harry something shaped like a ball of fluff in a plastic instead.

"It's candy floss, Draco. Here, have some," Harry beamed as he practically tore off the plastic and tore some of the pink fluff, only to shove it in Draco's mouth without waiting for the Slytherin's reply. The blond spluttered slightly as the candy was forced into his mouth and Harry laughed.

"What the fuck did you just shove into my mouth, Potter?! Eugh, it tastes disgusting!" Draco exclaimed as he made a face at the overly sweet taste of the sweets.

"It's just candy, Draco," Harry laughed again. He tore out another small piece of the candy and put it in his mouth, eyes closing in bliss as he savors the sugary confection.

"I cannot believe you would actually eat that revolting thing. I feel like throwing up just from watching you eat that," Draco said and true to his word, he was looking somewhat green. At this, Harry laughed even harder than before.

"It's just because you're so bitter," Harry teased while the both of them walked towards an empty bench that was facing the sea at the edge of the docks.

"You do you like it anyways? I never figured you to have a sweet tooth that is to that extend," Draco asked, almost absentmindedly, as the both of them sat down.

Harry smiled at the question while holding the candy floss in his lap and staring at the sea, lost in thought. Draco faced the Gryffindor when he realized that the somewhat hyperactive teen was suddenly subdued, waiting.

"When I was around five, Vernon wanted to take Dudley to the carnival that was in town that was just for the night. It was a huge event, since nothing like that ever happens in our small, quiet neighborhood. Obviously, they didn't want me to tag along with them. They wanted to send me off to Mrs. Figg's house instead but she was out of town that week for some reason. In the end, they had no choice but to take me along that evening," Harry began after a few minutes. As he felt the warm wind blew towards them, Harry closed his eyes and inhaled slowly.

"I was so excited since I've never been anywhere with them. I remembered sitting in the back seat, next to Dudley, praying that Mrs. Figg doesn't return abruptly, causing me to get left behind. All throughout the car ride, Vernon and Petunia kept yelling at me to behave when we get there or I would basically be slaughtered when we get home. I mostly ignored them since I was too excited to let any death threats bring me down. However, once we got there, my excitement was short lived. Instead of taking me along into the carnival like I thought they would, they just told me to get out of the car and wait for them there until they return. I never remembered being so crushed as I was that night," Harry continued, his surroundings forgotten as he revived the memories of that night.

"It was dark and so, so cold since it was sometime during the fall and close to the winter and, on top of that, I barely had anything warm on me. Not knowing what else to do, I sat next to the car with my face buried my arms and cried by myself for hours at my apparent bad luck. Deep down, I knew it was too good to be true, that they would finally give me a chance to have even a tiny chance at happiness. Too caught up in my own misery, I didn't realize it when a little girl came up to me and sat next to me. It was until she started to pat my back in comfort that I looked up from my curled up position to look at her," Harry chuckled slightly at that.

"I still remember how she looked like until this day; long, red hair with the most brilliant emerald eyes I have ever seen. It wasn't until later when I first saw a picture of my parents that I realized how much that girl resembles my mother. 'Why are you crying?' she asked me, looking somewhat confused at my tears. I didn't reply, just looking at this girl who had suddenly came up to me. After a few seconds later, I think she finally realized that I wasn't that I wasn't about to answer her any time soon and smiled sweetly at me. Shoving something at my hand, she then stood up and waved at me before running towards her father who was standing somewhere near us." Opening his eyes, Harry then turned to look at Draco and held p the pink candy floss slightly up in the air.

"It was candy floss. She had given me her candy floss! It was half eaten and it was slowly turning hard since she had probably bought it for awhile back but it didn't matter. It was the first kind thing anyone had ever done for me. It didn't matter that she didn't know me or I didn't know her – she just gave it to me anyway because she saw that I was sad and alone at that time. It was then that I realized that not everyone in this world is as bad as the Dursley's. So, you see Draco, it doesn't matter how disgustingly sweet it is, I still love it," Harry said with a smile.

For awhile, Draco stared at Harry, his face devoted of any emotions at all. Then, a few moments later, he reached out towards the pink candy floss that was held up slightly from Harry's lap, tore a small piece and ate it while turning away from Harry to look at the view in front of them.

* * *

After the fun they had at the amusement park, the two of them had walked along the beach that the amusement park was built at in silence, each of them knew that they would have to eventually sit down and talk. Pausing, Harry then bent down to pick up his shoes that he had toed off and to fold up the hem of his jeans. Walking a few feet away from Draco, he then walked along the teeth of the beach, the waves washing at his feet every few seconds.

As he inhaled the slightly salty atmosphere of the beach, Harry fingered the vail that was safely tucked away in his pocket with his other free hand, the insecurities he had before resurfacing. Was he ready to answer and questions the blonde ask him? He had thought the whole project would be an excellent way for him to get to know the blonde but was he ready to know _all_ of Draco? Was _he_ ready to tell _his_ past to Draco?

Looking sideways at his companion, Harry watched as Draco bent down to retrieve a stray sea shell that was by his feet and studied it intently. A moment later, Draco smiled sadly and Harry sworn that he saw Draco's eyes glisten slightly for a mere second before pocketing the shell. When Draco realized he was being watched, he turned towards Harry and smiled sadly.

At that, Harry realized that _yes_, he was ready to know all that he could about this man in front of him. He wanted to know why Draco had looked so sad at what Harry considered to be simple things in life, as if he was remembering something bittersweet about his past. About who had taught him how to skate like he had before. About how Draco can be so caring and gentle one minute and changed into something else entirely the next. Harry realized he wanted to know.

"C'mon, let's talk," Harry said as he walked towards higher ground. Finding a deserted part of the beach, he then sat down on the sand and placed his shoes next to him. Shrugging slightly at Harry's choice of location, Draco then sat down next to him, their shoulders almost brushing against each other. For a few minutes, neither one of them said anything as they listen to the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach and watched as the sun sink further into the horizon.

Then, after a few minutes of the comfortable silence, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the last two full vials. Holding one of them out to Draco, he watched as the Slytherin took it and studied the clear content within. Uncorking the vial, he then clink his own vial with Harry's own uncorked one and smirked.

"Cheers," Draco said and the two of them drowned the entire content of the small vial in one go.


	14. Adrian

**Disclaimer:**Not mine! No money, don't sue yeah?

**Rating:**R / M

**Parings:**Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Severus/Hermione (very mild!)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note:**Yey, finally, the 13th chapter! For all of you who had been wondering who Adrian is all this time then wait no more! You will be able to _finally_ learn who he is. As for how it happened (you'll find out about this at the end of this chapter, no peeking!), it will be explained in the next chapter. I hope you like it; it took me forever to ensure that all this make sense to you guys. So, just one more thing, out of all of you who actually read this story till up to this point, which one of you actually guessed it right? Lol. Oh yeah, one more thing, I had to make Draco a little bit OOC in this chapter but I hope I didn't overdo it. Tell me what you think, yeah? Oh, and sorry it's so short...

**Status: Unbetaed **and still looking for one. Anyone interested?

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

_Chapter 13_

_Adrian_

As the two of them waited a few minutes for the potion to take effect, Harry closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

Here he was, sitting beside this person he had spend the entire day with and somehow trusted as much as he trust Hermione and Ron. In a few minutes both of them were going to tell each other their deepest, darkest secret to each other and surprisingly, Harry realized that he wouldn't have it any other way. That he trusted Draco enough to tell him everything about himself that even Hermione and Ron doesn't even know.

And he was being trusted in return.

"Listen, what is said today, beyond this point, I just want you to know that it will only stay between us. I will guard your secret as I do mine," Harry said as he opened his eyes to look at the blonde beside him.

"I will do so too," Draco replied shortly and Harry nodded his head sharply at that before looking down and unfolding the parchment in his lap to read at the instructions out loud.

_Good Evening, gentlemen._

_The potion you have drunk will last approximately 12 hours after consumption. It is during this time period, you two are both required to talk freely about anything you desire, keeping in mind that you will be required to write an essay about your partner when it is all over. Need I remind you once again that the essay should be about _them_ and _not_ about their family. Below is one question that you need to ask the other but the choice whether you want to include that in your essay is up to you. You will find that the question will help you understand each other greatly._

_Professor Yohanna._

"Bloody hell, she doesn't want much does she?" Harry mumbled under his breath.

"What is the question?" Draco asked shortly, bracing himself for the inevitable.

Harry glanced further down at the parchment and found the question they need to ask each other. "Pick one person, dead or alive, that has the most significant impact to your life and explain why."

After the question was read, the both of them kept quiet for a few minutes to gather their thoughts. After what seems to be hours, Harry decided that he would have to go first since Draco doesn't seem to want to talk. So, in a show of trust, Harry exhale softly but before he could begin, Draco beat him to it.

"About a year and a half before you destroyed Voldemort, somewhere during the final months of our fourth year, a new… addition, as they call it, arrived at Malfoy Manor. I can honestly say that I hate him, ever since I first saw his face, I hated him. I wanted nothing to do with him although technically, I was responsible for him," Draco began as he gazed at the fading sun in front of them, his hands wrapped tightly around his knees.

"He stayed with us since the day he was born. You never knew him but I have a feeling that if you do, than you would do just about anything to save him from Voldemort's evil plan. You see, he was Voldemort's secret weapon to destroy you," Draco stated and Harry just managed to muffle a gasp. At that, Draco turned to face his company of the day to find him looking slightly green in the face.

"It was horrid but Voldemort wanted to use the boy to destroy you. He figured that you wouldn't have the heart to kill a boy and thus, he will have an easy victory over you," Draco continued.

"That bastard wanted to use a kid to kill me?" Harry exclaimed with disgust. "That's low, even for him."

"I said he wanted to. He never did, did he?" Draco pointed out.

"Why not?" Harry spat, thinking about the day of that final battle and remembering nothing about a small boy.

"I'll get to that later. Anyway, since he was just a baby, my father was entrusted to care for him. Severus, being still a Death Eater and a Potion Master at that, was ordered to brew an illegal potion to administer to the baby every day."

"What potion?" Harry interrupted suddenly without meaning to.

"It was an age enhancing potion. It's not the potion that is illegal but to administer it to a minor is, in fact, illegal. The potion was designed to speed up your growth to twice as fast compare to normal. So, even though the baby had been living at Malfoy Manor for two months since the day he was born, mentally and physically he was a 4 months old baby," Draco explained.

"Oh my God, that man is sick to do that to an infant!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yeah. Thankfully, there are no side effects whatsoever from drinking the potion every day but it is illegal to administer it to a minor because it is morally wrong to rip out growth of a child and rob them of their innocence. Then, when the baby reached an age of four months – two months after he was born – Voldemort ordered the enhancement upon his age to be three times as fast."

"Severus protested heavily against it but since he had no evidence that the potion will cause any long term effect to the baby, he had to obey Voldemort's wishes," at this, Draco paused for a bit to collect his thoughts and after a deep breath, he continued.

"The potion was administrated and the four months old baby had grown to be about a year old boy. Everything went according to plan. What they didn't expect was that the boy would be violently ill for the next few days after he aged. It seems the boy's body was not able to keep up with the growth as everyone previously assumed. To make matter worse, my father and Severus was ordered to be on a mission for Voldemort for a time period of a month. Thus, I was ordered to take care of a one-year-old toddler in their place." At this, Harry laughed.

"Hah, I would like to see that! Do you even know anything at all about taking care of a child? And a sick one at that?" Harry laughed.

"I had no idea! Imagine my rage when he first threw up on me after I forced him his medications! I swear, at that point I hated him more than ever," Draco chuckled as he relived the memory. At the somewhat peaceful expression on Draco's face, Harry couldn't help but smile slightly.

"During those days that he was sick and I had no choice but to take care of him, he grown to become attach to me, wanting nobody else but me to feed him, give him a bath and just about everything else. I was quite surprised when he healed in just a day and a half under my care! Although that was the case, the boy was required to take a final dose of the potion but since he fell sick the last time, the potion was reduced to enhance his age to twice as fast instead of three, making him age to two-year-old. Since my father and Severus was still away on a mission, I was still required to take care of him as he started his training with Voldemort himself a few days after the growth. At this stage, I didn't mind as much as I have grown quite fond of the boy even though I only cared for him for a short period of time."

"Although he was training under Voldemort at that time, even I can see that he was slowly turning into a killing machine that was vacant of any emotions and somehow my time spend with him held the evil in him at bay. The time we spend with each other wasn't anything special – dinner, bath time, a bed time story – just little things but I was slowly starting to care for him and, as much as it pains me to say it at that time, love him even. I don't know, maybe it was because he always seem to have this smile on his face even after his training with that awful creature or how he always manage to make _me_ smile no matter how shitty my say was. It was like when I was with him, noting else matters except for this little boy that I held in my arms," Draco smiled. Harry watched, somewhat amazed, at how the blonde somehow seems to glow when he talked about this boy. It was beautiful to watch.

"It's funny, even as a two-year-old kid, he was very bright. He could pick up something from you even though you are doing it unconsciously. It was up to a point where he was able to pick up the most complicated of spells in a matter of hours after teaching it to him. There was a time when I had to finish this particularly difficult transfiguration spell – we had to transfigure a chair into a worm or something – and for the life of me, I couldn't do it. I kept reciting the theory and the incantation out loud with him in the room with me. I honestly thought he was asleep at that time. Imagine my surprise when he picked up my wand and cast the spell perfectly. And on the first try at that!" Draco laughed at the memory, his eyes shining with amusement and a sense of _pride_ that Harry couldn't help but join him.

"As smart as he was, he eventually began to notice that everyone kept calling him 'boy' or 'kid' instead of addressing him with a proper name. So, one day, as we were having dinner together a few days before my father and Severus was due to return to the Manor, he asked me what his name was," Draco smile faltered a little at that.

"At that time, I felt horrible as well as guilty that none of us, including my father and Severus, had never even bothered to pick out a name for him as if he wasn't even worthy of one. Looking at him then, I said the first name that popped into my head."

"Harry. It was Harry, wasn't it?" Harry injected, laughing.

"You wish, Potter!" Draco laughed too. "No, it was Adrian."

"Why Adrian?" Harry asked.

"Adrian was my Grandfather's name. He was the only person in this world who believed I can do anything and come out on top. There was a time when my parents we busy with their own life – my father at the Ministry and my mother with her social life – that I was often left to my own. My Grandfather practically raised me and I loved him more than I loved my own parents. He died when I was about 10 years old and I've never really gotten over it. That's why I named him Adrian," Draco explained sadly.

"It's a beautiful name," Harry replied warmly and Draco just smiled back.

"Adrian thought so too. So much that since that day, he kept referring to himself as a third person; addressing himself as Adrian instead of I or me. It drove Voldemort nuts!" Draco laughed.

"I can imagine," Harry chuckled.

"I think it was his way to tell people that he is still a person in his own right. Anyway, since that day, we became closer than ever, spending stolen moments amiss of Voldemort training him and such. At first, nobody gives a damn as long as Adrian can keep us with his training. Soon after that, however, Voldemort began training him Dark Arts materials like the killing curse and such. It was then that Adrian would start to cry and refuse to kill or torture anyone. It was then that came crying to me every night."

"When Voldemort found out, he was furious and he did about everything he could think of to split us apart. He would send me on a missions for months at a time and during all those times, I was worried sick about what would happen to him under Voldemort's influences. I was so worried about him that it came to a point where, more than once, I would just drop everything I was doing and rushed back to the Manor when I found out that he was hurt. All that only lead us to be closer towards each other," Draco said and Harry watched as those pride filled eyes slowly turn into sadness. Draco once again sat with his arms around his knees, seemingly trying to curl into himself more.

"Obviously Voldemort didn't like it. He said that I was having too much control over him; that Adrian would start going soft and not be the killing machine he wanted him to be. One evening, Voldemort ordered me to stay and watch as he train Adrian. It was a sight I never wanted to see ever again," Draco whispered as his eyes grow misty at the tail. Not being able to do anything about the pain, Harry could just scoot close to the blonde and threw his arms over his shoulder for silent comfort but Draco didn't appear to have notice as he was buried too deep in his own memories.

"I had to watch a small boy, forced to torture someone over and over until he was covered in blood. He was crying and begging Voldemort to not make him do it anymore and all that bastard did was laugh and told Adrian to kill them instead. The victims were screaming for mercy and Adrian could do nothing but obey Voldemort's command. I couldn't do anything because at that time, I was Voldemort's hostage. If Adrian would not do as he say, I would be tortured and if I tried to help Adrian, Adrian would be tortured instead. It was a lose – lose situation."

"After bringing in the third victim of the day, I finally had enough and launched myself towards Adrian, holding him in my arms as he cried. Voldemort was furious and ordered Adrian to kill me for disobeying his orders. Adrian point blank refused to do so, even going as far as to apperate the both of us out of the Manor. We didn't get far; he was still a child after all. We only managed to make a run for it for a few days but ended up getting caught due to exhaustion. Right before they threw me into the dungeons, I told Adrian to hide and not let anyone see him. He got away and did exactly that."

"Because of what I told Adrian to do, I was tortured for hours every day until I would eventually pass out. Even then they revived me sometime to continue to torture me until I pass out the second time. They wanted to know where Adrian was. Obviously, I wasn't going to tell them. I think it was about a week after that – I'm not sure though, I lost track of the days – Voldemort himself came down to the dungeons. He said that he had enough of the games we were playing and demanded that I tell him where Adrian is. Again, I refuse even though I know that by doing so, my life would end that night. Voldemort too tortured me; worse than how his other lackeys did before. Finally realizing that I wouldn't budge from my decision, he gave me an ultimatum: either I tell him where Adrian is and be in his good books again or not tell him and die. As stupid as it sounds, I rather die than let Voldemort have him."

"I didn't count on Adrian being nearby when I said that and I was quite shocked to find him running towards me and shielding me from Voldemort. I wanted to make a run for it again, figuring that I will find a way to keep us both safe but before I could do anything, Voldemort pulled Adrian away from me and killed him right in front of my eyes." At this point, Draco was sobbing his heart out that Harry threw all caution into the wind and pulled the heart broken boy into his arms. At the first contact, Harry could feel Draco stiffen in his arms but as Harry slowly stroke his back and whisper soothing words to him, Draco began to melt in his embrace and just _cry_. Burring his face into the soft hair, Harry too realize that he was crying with the blonde, touched and sadden by the fact that the person in his arms had gone through so much and somehow managed to come out stronger than ever.

They stayed that way until Draco finally pulled away from Harry's embrace, his sobs finally subside. Looking away, he then wiped away the residual tears while Harry pushed back his hair gently.

"Alright?" Harry asked and Draco just nodded his head slightly. With a deep breath, he then faced Harry to give him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he said and Harry just smiled back.

For the next few minutes, Harry just watched silently as Draco resumed his previous position while looking at the darken horizon in front of the both of them. More than a few times, Draco's eyes would leak more tears but he just wiped them away quietly. Harry realized that it might as well be his turn to tell his tale when Draco spoke up again.

"That night that Voldemort killed Adrian right in front of my eyes was the night I died. If you talked to anyone about me that year you would realize that they will only tell you one thing which is that I was a living corps. Outwards, I acted the same. Since Voldemort decided that I was still his most valuable asset, I was back to my previous position of his right hand man and I followed his every orders. But inside, I began planning my revenge for Adrian. Two weeks of careful planning and gathering information, I went to Dumbledore to offer my services as a spy against the Dark Lord. Being as high up as I was, I was able to supply invaluable information that finally lead the Light side to slowly device a plan to get rid of Voldemort once and for all. Six months later, you did it. You finally destroyed him. And I could finally breathe," Draco said softly, his voice was nearly carried away by the night's wind.

"So you were the inside source Dumbledore was talking about," Harry questioned and Draco just nodded his head. For awhile after that, both of them were silent once again as Harry let the new information he had just received sink in. But what Harry couldn't understand was _who_ this boy was to warrant such an act from the indifferent Slytherin.

"You're probably wondering who he was and why I would go to such length to ensure that he is avenged," Draco said with a smirk as he looked sideways at the now blushing Gryffindor.

"I never realize I was that transparent," Harry chuckled lightly.

"Not transparent, no. I guess that I would wonder about the same thing if I were in your position," Draco replied.

"It's just that, no offence, but even though he was just a kid, I couldn't see you do something like that to avenge _anyone_. I mean, what you did, you only do it because that person is someone very important to you. Like I would only take that action only if he was a part of my family. Like Severs, Remus, Ron Hermione or the Weasley. Other people, yeah, I would feel bad and I would remember them but it wouldn't have driven me to do something to that extend. Not to backstab Voldemort and jeopardize myself in the process," Harry explained.

Draco laughed bitterly at that statement. "You're right. Who was this kid that I claimed to hate in the beginning and yet, in the end, I was willing to jeopardize everything that I am to ensure of his revenge?" Draco replied. He then looked sideways at Harry again and smiled slightly at him. "You said that you would only do it if that person you want to avenge is your family, correct?" At Harry's nod, he continued. "Well, you could say that Adrian is family. Blood relative even," Draco explained. At Harry's confused face, Draco continued and watched as Harry's face morphed from confusion into horror at his next sentences.

"Because, Harry, Adrian wasn't just any boy. He was my son."

* * *

_A small boy of two was running across a sun-drenched meadow as a blonde haired man chased after him from behind. Although he ran as fast as his little feet could carry him, the boy could not outrun his father as the man scooped the boy in his arms and spun him around in circles. The boy squealed with laughter._

"_Faster, Daddy!" he yelled in the mist of their adjoined amusement and the blonde haired man could do nothing but comply. After a few more minutes, the both of them collapsed onto the ground, the boy on top his father, as they try to catch their breath._

_The boy then pulled himself up and tucked his head underneath the one of his father's. Gripping the smaller form tighter against his chest, the man just smiled contentedly as his baby boy giggled softly against his chest._

"_I love you, daddy," the boy said and the man felt his heart swell with joy at those four simple words of affection._

"_I love you too, sweetheart," Draco replied softly as he kissed the crown of the Adrian's head lovingly._


	15. Love of a father, betrayal of a mother

**Disclaimer:**Not mine! No money, don't sue yeah? That is, nothing except Adrian and Ayden.

**Rating:**R / M

**Parings:**Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Severus/Hermione (very mild!)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Author's Note:**Hey again! Nothing extreme for this chapter though but you should read it all the same. It might make a few more things clear about how Adrian came to be. Especially about the mom part since lots of you people asked me who the mother was plus bout the whole Luc thing. Also, a sight hint on who Harry's chosen person is. Any questions, please feel free to ask. I'll answer them the best I can. Happy reading and review yeah!

Oh, and to _celia westridge_ who asked: 'So are they allowed to sleep at peoples house only up till 40 hours or are they allowed to stay but not allowed to sleep at all', yeah, basically, they are allowed a maximum of 40 hours of sleep anywhere outside of their apartment and not more than that. They are allowed to stay over, as long as they return home to sleep. Just go with me here, there's a reason why this rule is set up. Okay?

**Warning:**Lucius is a bit OOC in this. Nothing big since he isn't even in this part but the recollection of his memories by Draco is a bit OOC. Implied MPreg though technically, there is none.

**Status:**Yeah baby, I got myself a new beta. Say hello to**_vampgoddesss_** everyone!!! So yeah, this chap is betaed.

**PS:** I kinda forgot to add this in the last time so this chapter is dedicated to _The future Mrs.Draco Malfoy_ because she spotted the whole vial thing and _Julia_ because you're such a doll for reminding me to update even though it's been ages since I last upload a chapter. This chap is especially for you two!!

-:-:-:-**_I'm Not In Love_**-:-:-:-

_Chapter 14_

_The love of a father, the betrayal of a mother_

"Your son? You had a son?" Harry spluttered, looking at Draco with a mixture of shock and amazement.

"Yes, I had a son. But, like every other thing in my life, it wasn't my decision. It wasn't even mine. I was merely "a tool for the big picture", as Voldemort called it," Draco said bitterly as he threw a small shell that he had been toying with towards the sea.

"A tool? What do you mean?" Harry asked, somewhat dazed at how the whole even had turned out.

"Before me, my father held the title of Voldemort's right hand man. He held that position for as long as I could remember. At that time, I never knew the reason why my father would serve such a truly derange man since everything that I knew about Voldemort was evil. I hated him and his beliefs and I honestly never intended to follow in his footsteps. Easier said than done. When it was time for me to turn him down, I realized why he had no choice," Draco stated.

"I knew it sounds lame but I truly loved my parents. As busy as they were, father was always there when I needed him and as for Narcissa… well, she was still my mother when it comes down to it. So, it was no picnic, turning Voldemort down, especially when he held my parents life in his hands. I had no choice but to obey," Draco whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around his knees. From where Harry was sitting, he could see that Draco's form was shivering slightly, whether it was from the cold or the memories, Harry wasn't quite so sure. As their surroundings became darker and the stars started to twinkle above them, Harry realized that he didn't need to know; that comforting someone who was in pain didn't need a reason. With that in mind, he scooted closer towards the blonde until their shoulders were brushing as he offered silent support to the other man.

"The times I was called and forced to serve him were the worse times of my life. I did everything he told me to, fearing the safety for my parents although I was never called that often nor was I needed much. For everything that was related to Voldemort and my family, my father took care of most of it. It wasn't until later that I learned that he practically forbid Voldemort to summon me until he absolutely have to. It sounded strange, that my father had that much power over Voldemort but Severus told me that Voldemort trusted my father more than anyone else in the world. I think, at some point, he might have even loved my father. That was why I was quite surprised when I was summoned one day and realized that my father wasn't standing beside Voldemort anymore. More so when he told me that I was to take his place as his right hand man. I only realized what happened and why I was the one chosen to fill up the position my father once held three months later."

"Although it seems as if Voldemort wanted nothing to do with my father, I knew otherwise. My first clue was when he started to address me as Luc instead of Draco like he used to. It was then that I realized that there was something wrong; something that I didn't know of. I tried asking Severus about it since he was the only other person that I could trust but he told me he was just as puzzled as I was."

"It was about three months after my 'promotion' that I found out the whole reason behind it. It was then my life came crumbling down."

"I was summoned one night from Hogwarts - I can't remember the exact day - which was strange itself since I was rarely summoned when I was on Hogwarts grounds for the fear of alerting one of the staff but I went anyways. When I reached the Manor, I was instructed to meet with Voldemort up in my parents' bedroom. It struck me as odd then since I was never permitted to enter their chamber even as a child. Against my instinct, I went regardless. It was when I saw Voldemort fucking my mother through the bed as soon as walked through the doors that I realized that whatever it was that I thought I was protecting by taking the mark, it wasn't worth protecting at all," Draco recalled the night in a small voice.

His eyes were vacant of any emotions and were staring at the darkening horizon in front of him. He was so deep in the memories that he didn't even realize that Harry was gasping and bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as the contents of his stomach threatened to push itself out through his mouth. He couldn't imagine the shock and repulsion of seeing your own _mother_ doing something like that with that _creature_. After a few deep breaths, Harry managed to calm down enough to realize that Draco had leaned against his shoulders heavily, as if he needed some support to make it through his reminiscence. Needing the contact as much as Draco does, Harry then gently pushed Draco's shoulder away from him. At Draco's slightly dazed, puzzled look, Harry smiled softly and scooted behind him, pulling the unresisting blonde towards him so that Draco's back was against his chest. Wrapping his arms around Draco, he then encouraged the blond to lean against him as he placed his chin on Draco's left shoulder. At first, similar to the hug he had initiated previously, Draco stiffened in his touch but as Harry tightened his hold on the blonde's waist, he felt Draco slowly melt into his embrace and continue to tell his tale.

"I was shocked at the spot that I was even there when she screamed in ecstasy when the both of them climaxed. I remembered feeling so sick that I practically threw up right there, by the door. As soon as I emptied out the entire contents of my stomach, I made to run out and never look back but I never got the chance to. I was stunned from behind by Voldemort who laughed and levitated me to lie in the middle of the bed, right next to her."

"That night was the second worse night of my life. It turns out that Voldemort wanted to use my body as a vessel for the child he was planning to grow. He said that Narcissa was willing enough to provide him with an heir for him to do as he wishes. It was then that Voldemort got the idea to use the baby as a weapon to destroy you, counting on the fact that you would hold back when you see it was only a child that you were about to destroy. But, as good as the plan was, he knew that Narcissa's magical power wasn't as strong as he needed the baby to be in order to destroy you."

"That was where I come in. The baby was going to be planted in me so that instead of absorbing Narcissa's power to be his own, the baby was going to get my magical powers instead. By combining his genes, Narcissa's genes as well as my powers, it would make the baby practically invincible, even compared to Voldemort himself."

"That night was pure hell for me. After he extracted the combined essence from Narcissa's body, he then bound me to the bed and divested me of my clothes. Without numbing me with anything at all, he then pierced through my stomach with a dagger, starting from my navel right down to just above my groin. The cut was so deep that at that point, I could see my own internal organ threatening to spill out. There was so much blood and I was screaming for them to stop, tears spilling from my eyes while the both of them laughed at the tears, calling me a wimp. At that point, I think I might have passed out but he revived me once again and made sure I stayed awake through the whole ritual. With that, he then grabbed a vial of potion that was on the nightstand and he then poured half of the solution into the cut. I swear, right there and then, I wanted to die. It felt as if he was pouring boiling hot salt water into the wound. As the solution was doing its magic, Voldemort told me that the potion was used to speed up the growth of the fetus. Being impatient as he was, he said that the pregnancy would take me about 4 months rather than the customary 9 months. He then inserted the combined essence into the wound and poured the other half of the solution into me. It was then I passed out the second time and did not wake until a few days afterwards."

"When I finally came to, I was in Severus's quarters back in Hogwarts. I didn't remember any of it at first but as soon as I began to push myself up into a sitting position and felt the pain, the memories of that night suddenly came flooding back. I threw up again at the side of Severus bed with tears pouring down my face. It was when I finished throwing up I realized that somebody was stroking my back gently and was holding my hair out of the way. Looking up, I saw that it was my father."

"At that time, I remembered that I hated him so much that he let that creature used me like that. The image of Narcissa laughing beside Voldemort when I was crying out in pain flashed back in my mind and I was certain that he was in on the plan as well. Scooting away from his touch, I screamed at him to leave and that I hated him. I was practically hysterical and I didn't even realize that I blurted out that I only took the mark so that Narcissa and him would not be killed. It was until Severus pulled me into a tight hug that I realized that he had left the room. It was in Severus arm that night that I completely broke down for the first time in my life," with that, his voice hitched a little as he remembered the late potion master. Harry could sympathize as he too began recalling moments where Severus was there for him when other was not. Keeping quiet, he let the blonde continue.

"Severus stayed with me for hours as I cried my heart out, not wanting to let go and faced the reality that I have a child growing inside of me. A child that was created with Narcissa's – my mother's – and Voldemort's essence inside of me. My half brother," at this, Draco laughed bitterly while he brushed the tears that were still falling from his eyes away angrily. "I hate the both of them, I said to Severus and he shushed me. He then told me the whole story - that my father wasn't to blame."

"My father was against the whole idea of using me as a vessel to carry the child. According to Severus, my father refused to partake in the plan and for that, Voldemort tortured him until he was literally at the brink of death. Seeing that he wasn't about to change his mind when it comes to me, Voldemort stopped torturing him and sent him to Severus so that he could heal him. He ordered Severus to keep my father away from me throughout the whole period of the first stage of the plan. It wasn't until he told me that, that I realized that that morning was the first time that I've seen my father in almost half a year."

"When I realized that it wasn't his fault, rather he tried to stop it, I went looking for my father. I was still weak and Severus protested heavily against it but I was just as stubborn as he was. I found him in the living room but before I could reach him, I blacked out for a moment. When I came to, I realized that I was in his arms and, for the first time in my life, I saw that he was crying. He was holding my so tightly to his chest and he was _crying_. He kept apologizing and saying that he should have tried harder to keep me away from all this that I finally realized that my father had tried _everything_ in his power in order to keep me safe. I finally realized how wrong I was about my father that night."

"Throughout the duration of the pregnancy, my father stayed with me the whole time, fearing my own safety as well as for the unborn child's, Severus ordered me to stay in his quarters with him as well as my father. Through out the duration of the pregnancy, I finally got the chance to know my dad." At this, Harry saw the same smile that he had had when he was talking about Adrian shine forth once again.

"There was this one night when I asked him to tell me one thing that he had never told anyone. I never expect him to answer the question as it was something you asked your friend, not your own father. He surprised me when he answered my question. He said that he was proud of me. I was shock since he had never, in my entire life, said that to me. Seeing my shocked face, he then walked over to me and grabbed me by me shoulder to look me square in the eye. He said that he had never say it out loud to anyone that he was proud of me because he didn't want Voldemort to know how much I meant to him and use me as a hostage so that he could get my father to do everything he wanted. He never wanted me to get mixed up in the war so he kept me at arms length instead. It was the only way he knew to protect me."

"He said that he knew Narcissa hated me since the day I was born. Because he was so wrapped up in the Voldemort issues before he was destroyed the first time, he entrusted me to my grandfather, knowing that he would take care of me and not abandon me like Narcissa would have if I was in her care. After you destroyed him that first time, he said that he wanted to get to know me the way my grandfather does but he doesn't know how. On top of the reason that he knew that Voldemort would be back some day and could use me as a hostage, he kept away from me. He said that he watched me from afar and that he would always sneak up to my room when I was sleeping, to make sure I was alright," Draco smiled at that as he leaned further back into Harry's embrace.

"It was then that I remembered this one night, when I was about five. I was sick for two days and my fever just wouldn't break. I was so restless that I kept waking up in the middle of the night. It was then that I remembered that every time I woke up, there was always an angel sitting next to me, lulling my back to sleep every time. Come morning, my fever broke and I was feeling so much better. Thinking about it, I realized that in my hazed mind, I just didn't recognize my father sitting there, watching over me as I slept."

"The due date finally came, four months after the 'planting of the fetus' and I was taken to the Manor once again. I was placed in a room full of Death Eaters so that they could witness the birthing of Voldemort's newest weapon. All except my father. He was back on Voldemort's good book but he couldn't bring himself to watch what he knew would be happening that night and I didn't want him to. Since I didn't have the necessary… equipment to deliver the baby, Severus had to perform a C-section to get the baby out. Without a numbing spell."

"_That_ night was the worst night of my life. I could feel every cut, every movement, _everything_. Once again, Voldemort placed a spell on me so that I didn't pass out until the whole thing was over. He said that it was to be a reminder to both me and the rest of the Death Eater of what he is capable of if any of us decided to betray him. Even though Severus did it as quickly as he could, it still felt as if someone was tearing my insides out. As soon as I heard the baby's first scream, I blacked out."

At that closing remark, the both of them fell silent and Harry took that time to absorb and reflect on everything Draco had told him in the past two hours. A part of him cried out for the blonde, not believing that he had to go through such a torturous few years without anyone beside him. Another part of him, a more sentimental part, wish that he could just take him away from the world and shield him from the pain. Not knowing how the blond could react to the latter part of him, Harry opted to keep quiet and let his feelings be conveyed through the touches. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Draco broke the silence once again.

"So now do you know why I hated Adrian since the first time I saw him? His very existence brought pain to my life and although I learned to love him later, I still hated him in the beginning. The reason for his being is mainly to bring me pain in every sense of the word," Draco stated and Harry took this as his queue to talk.

"At first, I was kind of horrified that you said you hated Adrian but after hearing the whole story, I think I understand why you were so against him. Now that I know most of the story, I think I understand _you_ better," Harry began. "But when it all became too much, who did you turn to? Other than Severus and your father."

"Nobody. At that time, I couldn't trust anybody with that secret. It was made easier since the whole duration of the pregnancy took place during out fourth year summer break. My father and Severus were the only ones I got. Now you understand why his death was so hard for me to take," Draco stated and Harry nodded his head against the side of Draco's cheek.

"Yeah, now I understand. I'm sorry I wasn't there for him when he needed me and for not protecting him like he protected me. He would've still been here if it wasn't for me," Harry sighed and as close as he was to Draco, he felt the slight shake of Draco's head against his.

"It's not your fault. He had other people he would die protecting, even if you weren't in the picture. Me, my father, Hermione, Adrian -"

"Adrian? No offence or anything but what does Adrian have to do with Sev?" Harry injected and Draco just smiled.

"When I realized that Adrian meant more to me than just another one of Voldemort's weapons, I named him as Adrian's godfather. Just in case anything might have happened to me, I wanted the kid to have someone to care for him like I have my own father," Draco stated.

"Oh, so the kid in the picture was Adrian, not you!" Harry exclaimed a few heartbeats later.

Pulling slightly back from the embrace, Draco turned to look at Harry with a frown. "What picture?"

"When I was first invited to Sev's study, I saw three frames on his study table; one of me and Ron, one of Hermione and another one of this blonde boy. I couldn't see his face clearly though but since he had blonde hair, I automatically assumed it was you since you were rather close to him," Harry replied. Looking straight into his eyes, Draco then leaned back into the embrace before asking Harry his next question.

"Severus means a lot to you, doesn't he? Is he the one that changed your life the most?" he asked, snuggling further into Harry. Harry didn't answer the question directly but choose to bury his face at the side of Draco's neck, content that he could just hold the blonde like this without being pushed away. He also took the time to think things over.

"You know, when I first read the question, the first name that popped into my head was Severus. It wasn't until I thought it over I realized that there was another person that made a change in my life more than Severus ever could," Harry began after a small eternity as he placed his chin back on Draco's left shoulder but before he could continue, Draco cut him off.

"Don't tell me you had a son too," Draco joked dryly while throwing him a sad smile.

"No, not a son, although, technically, he was connected to me by blood. His name was Ayden. He was my twin."


	16. The Twin

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**Disclaimer:**Not mine! No money, don't sue yeah?

**Rating:**R / M

**Parings:**Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione, Severus/Hermione (very mild!)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Status: Unbetaed **and still looking for one. Anyone interested?

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

_Chapter 15_

_The twin_

"You had a twin? Harry Potter had a _twin_?" Draco questioned, a look of shock passed through his face and Harry had to chuckle at his expression.

"Yes, I had a twin. Ayden was my twin," Harry confirmed and at this, Draco pulled away from Harry's embrace all together to turn around and face him, looking for any sign that he was lying although the effect of the Seritaserum was still in full strength.

"I thought you were an only child? How is it that you had a twin and nobody else know about him? It doesn't make any sense," Draco reasoned after a moment of thinking everything over.

"Technically, nobody was supposed to know since how he came to be was accidental. Not even Severus knows about it. Only Ron, Hermione and Dumbledore know. And now you," Harry said. At that, Draco just looked at him expectedly and Harry just raised his eyebrow back at him, smirking. At this, Draco just scowled.

"Don't make me ask you how he came to be because I have some theory of my own and none of them is pretty. And I just spilled my guts all over you so I really don't want to be rude right now," Draco replied and Harry laughed at this.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I guess it started long before I even knew any better. Before I received the letter from Hogwarts, I was practically living as a modern day servant for my uncle and his family. I had to clean their house, cook and all those other chores that you claimed muggle should know about," Harry began while looking pointedly at Draco who just rolled his eyes in return. "At first it was okay, I didn't think much of it since I was told to do the chores since I was young so I didn't know any better. It was around the time I was five was when I started asking my uncle why was I the only one doing all the chores and Dudley, my cousin, wasn't. It was when it all started."

"What started?" Draco asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"The abuse. Well, not physically but they would verbally abuse me, always saying that I was worthless, a nobody. They would tell me lies about my parent, saying that they were worthless people and that they deserve to die. I remember that I would cry and cower at one corner of the room with my hands covering my ears but I was too afraid to tell them otherwise. When they were satisfied with that, they would either tell me to finish doing all the chores or throw me back into the cupboard underneath the stairs for the rest of the day," Harry said with a slightly hushed voice.

"Cupboard under the stairs?" Draco echoed, confused and Harry turned to face him, throwing him a sad half smile.

"That was my bedroom for the first eleven years of my life. My own personal heaven," Harry replied with a faraway look in his eyes. Other than another surprised look that was hastily covered with a nonchalant look, Draco didn't give any other reaction to the news so Harry continued.

"You can imagine what kind of a child I was growing up, having been told that I was worthless and a nobody ever since I could remember. Although I was self conscious and have a slightly low self esteem, I still have this small hope that all those things were just a test and that it will be over soon when I start school. I thought that if I could just get good grades and be excellent in school, my aunt and uncle would see what a good boy I was and won't say all those thing about me anymore," Harry chuckled darkly at this that it somehow startled Draco a bit at how he was behaving.

"Naïve as I was, I worked really hard during my first year in primary school, convinced that all I had to do was to prove myself worthy so that my aunt and uncle would love me more. It was also around that time was when Dudley would start to beat me up during lunch time, taking his cue from his parents. I was always cornered by Dudley and his two sidekicks during lunch and started pushing me around. Eventually they started to become more bold and daring and that was when they would start to beat me up. At that age, because I was borderline malnourished, I didn't have enough strength to fight back so I would always end up bruised. Through it all, I kept telling myself that it was okay; that all I have to do was hang on, just for a little while. How simpleminded I was."

"And then, after a long year, I finally got my final grades and I remembered feeling as if I was on top of the world. I did it, I got the good grades. I thought back then that they would love me for sure now. For the first time ever, I was so excited to go home and show them what I have done. I remembered that I ran home to show my aunt my grades, saying that I got first in class, expecting her to sweep me in her arms and tell her that she was so proud of me. When I showed her my report card, I got was the exact opposite," Harry stated bitterly, his voice was barely above a whisper at that point.

"In contrast to what I was expecting, I got the scolding of my life. Dudley had shown his grades before mine and he'd barely made it through the year. On top of that, the school was concern that Dudley was beating me up regularly that they reported his behavior in his report card. My aunt kept shouting at me that it was all my fault and that I was the one who brought all the bad luck to the family. Then she said that I should have never been born and she should have just turn away when I was first left at their door step all those years ago. She then threw me into the cupboard and left me there all of the next day," Harry said with a tremor in his voice and at this point, he was curling into himself, hugging his knees close to his body. Draco, who sat slightly away from the Gryffindor, just held himself in check as all the anger, confusion and protectiveness in him threatens to burst out of him.

"That was when something literary broke within me. I knew then that nothing I do was ever going to be good enough and that maybe I shouldn't be alive. It was at that point that I remember that I have totally given up hope that _anyone_ will come and rescue me. It was at that point that I vow never to trust anyone anymore,"

"Ever since that day, I always kept to myself and not care about my surroundings. I still attended school and do the chores but I would never say a word. Dudley still beat me during lunch time but I didn't care anymore. I completely detached myself from everything, barely living, just enough to survive. I remember during one of the times that I was aware what was going on around me, I heard someone saying that my eyes looked dead. I barely made it through half of the year when I received somewhat of a wakeup call,"

"One day, when I was walking home from school, Dudley and his friends pulled me aside to the playground that I have to pass through to get home. As usual, he started to beat me up while throwing insults at me along with his friends. I was in my own world as usual, escaping the reality that was my life when the beatings just suddenly stop. Curious, I pulled back into myself and saw a boy beating Dudley up and told him to leave me alone. Dudley, for all his size, just ran away with his tail between his legs. The boy then turned around and offered me a hand up with a warm smile on his face,"

"I just looked at the outstretched hand, not remembering a time when someone would offer me help. He asked if I was okay and squatted right in front of me, examining the various cuts and bruises on my face with concern. He suddenly frowned and reached into his side pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. He then reached out towards me and started dabbing the handkerchief at the corner of my mouth,"

"At the first contact of his hand on my face, I felt a jolt of something that I've never felt before that drove me to scramble away from him. He looked at me with mixed emotion of confusion and amusement but he didn't try to approach me again. Reaching up, I realized then that I was bleeding and he was only wiping the blood away from my face. Then I looked up at him again to see him grinning at me,"

"At that time, I didn't know what to think. He was the first person ever who had been on my side, defending me and sticking up for me. A part of me wanted to believe that this person actually care but another part of me, a bigger part, knew that I would never see him again and he was just another face in the crowd. To cover my sadness at the time at the sudden realization, I went on defense, yelling at him to leave me alone. And then I ran,"

"When I was finally back in my own little safe heaven late that night, I finally thought things over and I actually felt guilty for shouting at the boy who had helped me earlier. I mean he was the first person who had actually protected me from Dudley and although I was never going to see him again, I could have, at the very least, thank him. But then I remembered all those people who had hurt me even though they were considered my family and I thought about this boy who I barely know. How sure am I that he's not like that – that he won't betray me like they have? All my previous insecurities, doubts and fear then came back to me and I scolded myself for believing such fantasy. That night I made another vow never to be so naïve again or I'll be the one who gets hurt in the end,"

"For all my assumption of never seeing him again, I could only stare fate in the eye as I face my future. The next Monday, I was running late for class due to the extra chores I had to do that morning. I ran to school, hoping to make it in time but when I turned the corner to the school, I literally crashed into somebody, toppling the both of us across the front lawn of the school. Looking up, I felt my face formed into a scowl as I realized who I crashed into,"

"When the other boy realized who I was, he grinned and pushed himself upright. He then turned back and offered me his hand like he did before but I just ignored him. Pushing myself up, I started to jog towards the school entrance as the final bell rang throughout the school, signaling that I was officially late. Before I started to climb up the stairs, the older boy behind me called me back, asking me to wait. Obviously, I just ignored him and pushed through the school entrance, making my way towards my first class when he called me again. He said that since I was late anyway, I might as well accompany him to the headmaster's office. At least then I would have a valid excuse to be late,"

"At first I didn't buy it, opting to leave him wondering around the huge school looking for the office all by himself. But then I remembered the teacher's warning that if I came in late once more I would be expel, I changed my course towards the school office with him trailing behind me. Along the way, we didn't say much to each other but my mind betrayed me again, thinking that it would be nice if this boy beside me would've to become my friend. Even though a part of me protested venomously, I found myself introducing myself to the other boy," Harry smiled as he remembers the introduction between himself and his very first friend.

* * *

"_Harry," Harry said simply after a long pause as the two of them walked side by side towards the headmaster's office._

"_Ayden," the boy replied back, throwing Harry a small grin.

* * *

_

"Wait, wait. I thought you said that Ayden was your twin," Draco said.

"He was. Not biologically, no. He was my blood twin," Harry smiled and waited for Draco's reaction but if he were expecting anything huge, he didn't get it. Draco only raised his eyebrow in response.

"Well, that's rather anticlimax. And here I thought he was your biological twin. At least I would have something to blackmail you with if you ever let any of _my_ secrets spills," Draco drawled and Harry laughed at his tone.

"Sorry to disappoint you but Ayden was my blood twin. But we didn't plan any of it. In fact, we didn't actually go through the whole ritual but I'll get to that part later," Harry said and at this, Draco's expression did betray that he was somewhat curious but he just kept quiet and motion for Harry to continue.

"From there on, it was an extremely slow process for me to actually trust him. Although that was the case, he stayed by me although we were several years apart. Because of this, Dudley never bullies me again. Since we weren't in the same year and couldn't have lunch together, Ayden would always walk me home though the first time he did, I practically shouted at him to leave me alone but he just smiled and kept following me home. I knew that he didn't live nearby since if he did, my aunt would have known about it already so he was going out of his way to accompany me back to my house. The second day I did the same thing and yet, he still followed me home. After the first week of me yelling at him to stop following me and him ignoring my cries to leave me alone, I finally gave up and just let him be,"

"Throughout the times that he walked me home, he would always talk about random things and about how his day was. He would try to engage me in a conversation but I just ignored him and he would continue chatting away by himself. It never bothered me that he was talking too much and at one point, I even thought that it was nice to hear someone talking to me in a pleasant tone instead of a harsh one but I quickly reprimanded that side of me. It wasn't until a few weeks later that he actually crossed the line though he didn't know it,"

"It was a Friday afternoon, almost a month after I met Ayden. Earlier that morning I was told off my aunt about some of the chores that I've done, stating that I'm not doing it properly and she insulted my parents again. Although I was furious with her that morning, I didn't say anything, opting to go to school early that day but the black cloud still hung over me throughout the day. At the end of the day, I was actually quite short with Ayden and was in no mood for his daily update but as usual, he didn't take the hint and talked about everything under the sun. At first I tuned him out, not caring what he was saying and concentrated in making it through the day but when he started talking about his parents, I was unconsciously pulled into the conversation. I hear him talk about his mother and his little sister and how the three of them growing up. He told all the nice stories that you would hear 'bout a loving family that I was getting more and more irritated with every story he tells. Then, he turned towards me and asked me about my parents. That was when I snapped,"

"I can't remember the exact words that I used since I was like eight at the time but basically, I told him to mind his own business. Compared to the first time, I didn't treat him as bad as I did before and after telling him off, I basically just stormed away, leaving a very confuse Ayden in my wake," Harry chuckled at that and Draco frowned, slightly baffled that the sudden change of emotion. Harry, noticing this, quickly explained himself.

"Don't get me wrong, I felt horrible for yelling at him and I felt guilty the entire weekend. Even though I doubt that I'd ever see him again, I promised myself that if I see him on Monday morning, I was going to apologize. The funny thing was, when I did see him come Monday, he, being the cheeky brat that he was at that age, asked me if I had finally stopped playing and if I had finally decided to be a boy again since I acted like a girl the other day. It was the last thing I expected him to say but at that point, I felt really glad that he had said it. And that's when I knew that Ayden would stick around for some time."

"Ah. And here I thought that it was some kick of yours to yell at other boys when you were that age," Draco smirked and Harry just laughed.

"After that, I was more excepting of Ayden although we did get into fights between us for quite a number of times. He also thought me to be more open and not be so paranoid and to trust people. You could even say that he was the reason why I became who I am today," Harry stated and then looked pointedly at Draco who took that as his queue to shut up.

"Well, along the years, he became my best friend and something sort of like my brother. Although that was the case, he rarely, if ever, talked about his family ever again. Even though I thought it was rather strange, I never questioned him about it. I never knew that it was the 'root of all evil' – it you could call it that – of his problems. It all started on the morning of his thirteen birthday – when he decided that he want to celebrate it with me. That was odd all on its own because we'd never actually celebrate birthdays. But he said that it was fine and that he wanted to treat me out all day. At first I didn't want to come along because he looked unusually pale and seem to be in some sort of pain. After much persuasion on his part, I finally agreed. He then dragged me towards town and proceeded to head to the first stop of the day – the movies," and at this, Harry grinned again.

"So basically, you copied the idea of watching a movie based on what happened that day?" Draco asked.

"Somewhat. That and the fact that Hermione and Ron are going to watch some movie this weekend and since I can't join them because of the whole floo thing," Harry said sarcastically. "Oh course not, Draco. I took you to the movies because I thought that you might like to watch it, despite the lame movie that we happened to choose."

"Of course," Draco replied heftily and Harry couldn't help but rolled his eyes a little at this.

"I can't remember the title of the movie he and I watched that day but I did remember what he bought for us to munch on in the cinema that day," Harry said and Draco could practically see him bouncing on his seat and finally, it clicked.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me it's –"

"It was two hotdogs, one bucket of popcorn and two cokes."

"But that was what you bought me when we were watching the movie earlier," Draco said and the twinkle in Harry's eyes magnified.

"Exactly. Other then the candy floss, it was the _only_ thing that I've ever had that was given to me out of kindness. That was why I choose those foods for you first instead of any other foods," Harry said with a grin and Draco just had to smile at that.

"Only you, Potter. Only you," Draco said and Harry just shrugged in response before continuing his tale.

"That day, we practically toured the whole small town, doing anything you could think of. I remember that came afternoon, at one of the parks around town, we even fed the ducks there and then he and I flew a kite that we bought. It was the most fun I had in my entire life," Harry stated but after that, his expression then turned somber.

"Well, that and it was the day that everything in my life changed. After we spend the whole day in the park, Ayden thought it would be best if we had some dinner first before we head back home. Wanting to spend more time with Ayden, I quickly agreed but before we even reach the entrance of the park, Ayden suddenly groaned in pain while clutching his stomach before he passed out right in front of me. I barely even managed to grab him before he fell to the ground."

"I panicked and yelled for help. Someone called an ambulance and we were taken to the nearest hospital. I remember holding on to his hand as the paramedics were working on him, quietly murmuring to him that everything is going to be alright. When we reached the hospital, I waited for hours for anyone to tell me what was wrong with him. After what was a small eternity, a doctor finally came up to me and asked me if I knew where his parents were. Childlike honesty, I said no and he was about to walk away when I told him that I was Ayden's family. At first he didn't believe me but after awhile, he sort of kept quiet for a bit but told me what was wrong in the end."

"He told me that Ayden was bleeding internally around the area of his stomach and it was getting really bad since he had been bleeding for the past few hours. He said that Ayden needed a blood transfusion but they ran out of his blood type supply in the hospital. He said that they needed to check the other hospitals for Ayden's blood type but by the time they find a match, it might be too late. He said that Ayden might die that night," and at that, Harry's voice hitched slightly but before Draco could comment, he continued.

"When he said that, I was close to hysteric at the thought of my only friend who I now considered to be my brother dying that night. I practically begged the doctor to save him and for him to take my blood to save Ayden. After a lot of begging and crying, the doctor agreed to check my blood type and if it is a match, he will take just enough to sustain Ayden until they found more blood for him. I told him to take as much as he needed but he said that it was against the law in the first place to take blood from me as I wasn't even 12 yet – and without parental consent at that – but since they thought that I was Ayden's family and since he is in critical condition, they had no other options."

"It turns out that I've got an O negative type blood, the universal donor. I remember as they were taking my blood, I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed and begged to the gods that as long as I am alive, Ayden should live too. I remembered that I cried at the thought that I would never be the same if Ayden was dead and that he was the only real family that I've got so he can't die as long as I am still alive. As long as my blood still flows through his veins, he will live," Harry stated and he heard Draco exhaled sharply at that.

"That's the basis of the blood twin ritual. That as long as your blood run through the other's veins, you're both connected as one; brothers. Twins," Draco whispered and at this, Harry nodded his head at that. There was a slight pause after that but Harry finally started speaking again.

"All things that happened afterwards aside, Ayden and I became inseparable because, although I didn't know it at the time, he became my brother that night. Even though I wasn't in tune with my magical side yet, my part of the ritual was valid and one half of the bond was activated. Ever since that night, I could feel any of his stronger emotions, like when he was happy or in trouble. Most of all, I could feel it when he is extremely hurt or in danger. It was later, when we found out about the consequences of my action that night, I found out that, although the bond Ayden and I shared are considered to be a blood bond, it was also not complete and slightly unstable as Ayden only received my blood and I didn't have his blood running in me in return," Harry stated and snickered a little before continuing his story.

"When Ayden found out, he was somewhat envious that I could tell all those things about him and demanded that we complete the bond. At that time when we found out, it was the height of the battle between Voldemort and I, and because of that, I didn't want to complete the bond. At that time, I was convinced that when it comes down to it, I would lose if I had to face Voldemort. If that would ever happen and I die, I did _not_ want Ayden to die with me as the effect of the blood bond between us. What followed could be considered as the biggest fight we had in our lives which, after a few hours of screaming, I won," Harry grinned but it turned sorrowful a few heartbeats later.

"When he was kidnapped from Grimmauld Place at the few months after we started our fifth year, the bond was what led me to find him," Harry stated but before he could continue on with the story, he was interrupted by Draco.

"Hey, wait a minute. If Ayden lived in Grimmauld place, why haven't I met him before?" Draco asked, confused as he raked through his memories of any man that resembles Harry's description of Ayden when he was in Grimmauld place for the Order's meeting.

At this, Harry kept quiet for awhile. Eventually, when Draco turned to look at him, Harry exhaled deeply and turned to look at Draco with a bitter smile on his lips and such haunting sad eyes that Draco was stunned by the intensity of it.

"Because Draco, Ayden died before you could ever meet him," Harry finally said and Draco finally, _finally_, understood.

The nightmare that he had before, the tears and the words that night, it wasn't of Severus but of Ayden.

Ayden who was his brother. Ayden who was his twin.

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered but Harry slowly shook his head.

"It's okay. I've never told anyone about what happened that day and I never talk about him so it's logical that you've never heard about him from anyone before," Harry stated as he looked up at the winking stars above them.

"But for all it's worth, I'm sorry all the same," Draco said and at that, Harry's gaze shifted towards Draco and looked at him. Really looked at him. Then, he smiled.

"If it's okay, I would like to talk about it. I would like to tell you what happened," Harry whispered.

"If you would like to, I'm willing to listen," Draco said, feeling somewhat overwhelmed that Harry would trust _him_ with something that was so private. At that point, Draco knew that after this, nothing will ever be the same again between the two of them.

"Ayden started living in Grimmauld Place shortly before the start of our fifth year and I was thrilled that I could see him every day from that point on - that is until I remembered that I would be returning to Hogwarts in a few weeks. After a lot of negotiation, temper tantrums and gods know what else, Dumbledore finally consent that I would be able to commute between Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place at a somewhat regular basis. And because of this, Ayden and I became even closer and my part of the bond with Ayden grew. But, even though I was so happy at the time, I know now that doing that was the biggest mistake of my life," Harry began.

"I was able to commute for three months before it all came crumbling down. You see, in order to get to Grimmauld Place, I need to use a fireplace and floo there and the only way to do that is through a special fireplace in McGonagall's office. Every night, I would sneak out from my dorm and report to McGonagall's office and she would see me off. So, one night after a particularly nasty detention with Professor Sprout, I just went straight to McGonagall's office instead of detouring to the common room first. That was mistake number one," Harry chuckled darkly at that.

"It turns out that Voldemort has spies within the walls of Hogwarts that even Severus knew nothing about and they have been tailing me since the beginning of the term. That night that I went off straight to McGonagall's office, one of the spies followed me there and learned the location of where I was off too. On top of the fact that, they somehow found out what my relationship with Ayden was and basically, they practically found my biggest weakness of all."

"I was shock to the core when Dumbledore summoned me to his office one afternoon and told me that one of Voldemort's spies managed to break into Grimmauld Place and kidnapped Ayden; finally succeeding in making him hostage against me. I remembered being so angry as well as disappointed in myself because I was the reason Ayden was pulled into this mess in the first place. For days afterwards, I refused to attend class and demanded that I'd be a part of the team to rescue Ayden. At that point, even Severus couldn't stop me."

"We entered our fourth day of our search when we got news that Voldemort and his Death Eaters were starting a massacre at the further edge of Hogsmede. Although I knew that it was all a trap to lure me out, I still barged out and was first to arrive at the scene, despite everything that Dumbledore and Severus did to keep me away. That was my second mistake," at this, Harry's voice began to shake slightly.

"I won't go into detail about what happened that day – I don't think I'd be able to relive it – but all I can tell you is that I managed to save Ayden from Voldemort. The first thing I said to him was to go back to the castle and find Ron. And he did. Without me. That was my third and ultimate mistake as I found out later when I reached the castle after Voldemort fled in between the duel against me," Harry said softly.

* * *

"_Ron! Ron, where's Ayden?" Harry asked frantically as he grabbed the front of Ron's blood soaked shirt_

"_What are you talking about Harry, I thought that he was with you all this time," Ron replied, slightly shocked that the question was being directed to him but as the look of horror start to morph of Harry's face, he too start to panic._

"_What do you mean that he's not with you?! Where is he, Ron?!" Harry yelled as he harshly pushed Ron away from him and started to look around him in frenzy. Harry then pulled back into himself to feel Ayden like he always does but he was startled to find that the link between them was slowly disappearing. Opening his eyes that he didn't even realize that was closed, he turned back to Ron. "I can't feel him. I can't fucking feel him anymore!!" he yelled before bolting once more towards the battle scene while ignoring Ron's cries of disapproval._

_Running through the maze of scattered bodies and seas of crimson blood, Harry hysterically looked for Ayden, all the while calling out his name while zigzagging though the battle that was slowly starting to end. Tuning out the rest of the world, he was shocked when he felt himself being pulled back by the arm. Half expecting to see Ayden's face, he found himself to be disappointed and angry when he came face to face with a badly bruised Severus._

"_You idiot, what are you doing here?! It is not safe – go back to the castle," Severus hissed angrily as he pulled Harry towards the general direction of the castle but before he could go further than a few steps, Harry pulled back his elbow and shoved Severus away from him._

"_No, I can't do that Severus. Ayden is still out there," Harry replied before taking off again to continue looking for his brother._

_Shifting through the few men that were still holding their ground, Harry's mind was filled with endless chants for Ayden to be okay. _'C'mon Ayden, where are you? Hang on, please just hang on. I'm coming,'_ he called out mentally although he knew Ayden could not hear any of it. When one of the few stray spells shot towards him, he deflected it without a thought, too wrapped up in his thoughts of finding Ayden. After endless minutes of looking for the older boy, Harry finally headed to the tree at the edge of Hogsmede in hopes that Ayden had the same thought as he did and head towards their own secret spot. Once there, he was disappointed however to see that there was nobody there except a few scattered bodies of death eaters._

"Ayden_!!" Harry suddenly shouted as he came to a standstill, letting out all his frustration with that single yell and finally, falling down on his knees with his head in his hands as he the worst case scenario played out in his mind._

"_Stop yelling, Shadow. I'm having a headache as it is," a weak voice said, followed by a coughing fit. At the sound of the painful cough, Harry quickly turned and practically dove into the bush nearby, finding Ayden._

_Ayden lying in a pool of blood._

"_Oh gods," Harry gasped as he fell down on his knees beside the still coughing Ayden. Gently, he picked up Ayden's head and placed it on his lap, ignoring the steady stream of blood that was oozing from between a deep cut at the back of Ayden's head._

"_Hey ya kiddo," Ayden gasped as the coughing fit finally seized while he looked up at Harry's eyes which was slowly gathering tears._

"_Oh gods, Ayden. I – I need to get you to the healer but I'm terrified that if I move you, I'll hurt you even more," Harry sobbed as he slowly pushed back on Ayden's sweaty bangs while the other hand wiped away at the blood that was slowly streaming from the corner of Ayden's mouth._

"_I don't want you to move anyways. I don't want you to leave," Ayden mumbled as he closed his eyes briefly._

"_How can you say that?! You're hurt, Silver. I promised that you won't get hurt but you are!" Harry sobbed and then bowed down to bury his face in between Ayden's hair. "I'm sorry, so sorry."_

_At this, Ayden wrinkled his brow. "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything. Thrust me, I was there. And I know for a fact that you didn't do this," he joked weakly and Harry's head snapped up at that._

"_How can you freaking joke at a time like this? You're bleeding at five different places Ayden and you're taking as if it's not a big deal. You might be dying, Silver and there is nothing funny about that. Oh gods, you might be dying. I need to get some help," Harry exclaimed as he start to push himself up but before he could go any further, Ayden managed to grasp his hand and pulled at it gently._

"_No, Shadow, I want you to stay. I need you to stay," Ayden said and once again, Harry could feel the tears starting. Hugging Ayden tight, Harry silent tears turn into a full blown sobs when he heard Ayden's next few words. "I am dying, Harry."_

"_Please don't say that Ayden. Just please don't say that. I'll get help and in a few minutes, the healers will be here to fix you up so you can get all better. Then I'll come see you tomorrow and we'll just laugh at this whole thing," Harry said hysterically but Ayden slowly shook his head and smiled sadly at Harry. Bringing his right hand up, he then gently caressed Harry's wet cheek._

"_I don't have a few minutes, Shadow," he said softly._

"_No, don't say that. I –"_

"_Harry, listen to me. I'm sorry I won't be there for you any longer but please remember that I'll always look out after you, brother. You've grown so much since the first time I met you and I am so honored that I got to witness that but you have to understand that when I'm gone, you don't have to stop growing; living. Promise me that you won't mourn too long, Shadow. Promise me that you'll live," Ayden said slowly, his voice going weaker by the second. As Harry started to shake and the tears kept pouring out tenfold, Ayden just hang on to his face and smiled softly at him. "Promise me, Shadow."_

_Bowing down once again, Harry tenderly kissed Ayden's forehead as his tears trialed down from his cheeks and dropped down to Ayden's now closed eyes. "I promise," he whispered between sobs._

"_I love you," he said before finally, the hand that was on Harry's cheek finally fell and Harry continued to cry as he clutched to Ayden now lifeless body.

* * *

_

"That was how Severus found me an hour later, clutching Ayden's lifeless body while I was staring into space. After sending out red sparks in the air, he then crouched down next to me while placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. Funny, I couldn't remember the feel of the touch at all," Harry whispered while throwing Draco a smile that was filled with remorse before looking back to the sea and continuing. "A few minutes later, I think, Remus and Dumbledore came. When Remus tried to take away Ayden's body from me however, I reacted violently, kicking and screaming at Remus until Severus pulled me away and hugged me tight. He just hung on, even when my magic went out of control and lashed out at him, just enduring everything until eventually, I passed out from all the emotional and physical exhaustion."

At this, Harry stopped for awhile and from where Draco was sitting, he could see Harry shivering. Taking off his outer coat that he was wearing, he then quietly wrapped it around Harry and the other man smiled sadly at him in return.

"After that day, for so long I stayed locked up in my room, refusing to talk to anyone or do anything. I remembered that Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione kept coming up to my room and just looking at me, wanting to say something but couldn't and finally leaving me alone looking so helpless. I didn't care at that point because I felt so numbed and yet, I was in agony, replaying the scene over and over in my head. Whatever I did, whether I was awake or sleeping, I couldn't get the image of him there, lying motionless in his own blood," Harry choked out and Draco could see that the shivering turned to shaking. Draco tried to put his hands around Harry but he slowly pushed Draco away, needing to just continue letting all of it out once and for all. And Draco understood.

For awhile, Harry didn't say anything, just trying to gather all of his strength to continue on. Wrapping his arms around himself, he then turned to look up at the darken sky above them and smiled sadly to himself. "Severus came a few time," he continued, "But unlike everyone else, he just sat at the chair next to mine when I was just staring into the fireplace or just at the foot of the bed during those times I couldn't find the strength to get out of bed. More than anything, that helped me the most because he wasn't trying to intrude or trying to figure out 'how I was feeling'. He was just there, silently lending me his strength and waiting for me to be strong enough to go on. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he wasn't around."

"Eventually, if you would consider three months of silence short that is, I begin to leave my room and I was trying to go on with my life or anything that even remotely resembled normal. It still hurt – everywhere I turned I kept replaying every single memory of what Ayden and I had been through – but somehow, I managed. Slowly, I was beginning to let myself heal. That is, I thought I was healing. Until Hermione stated otherwise," Harry stated and Draco couldn't help but groaned a bit at this.

"Don't tell me. She thought that it was unhealthy that you seem to be keeping quiet and not talk about Ayden to anyone and that you need to open up to someone," Draco said and Harry was rather surprised at that.

"Well, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Pansy was the same. I mean, I sort of gathered from my own personal experience that you just don't talk about it, especially within the first few months or else the consequences could be disastrous," Draco said and Harry smiled sadly at that.

"You have no idea. You're right, by the way, that I didn't want to talk about it. I told her that much and rather coldly, as much as I hated to say it, but she would have none of it. She insisted that I talk about it to make the healing process easier," Harry said as his eyes glazed over while he recalled about what had happened that day.

* * *

"_Harry, you need to talk about it. It's been three months since Ayden passed away and you barely even acknowledge it. It's not healthy," Hermione stressed from behind the high back chair that was facing the fireplace while Ron was silently standing a little way from the both of them. Harry continued to stare unseeingly at the rows of books at the other end of the room, trying to keep himself from falling apart._

"_There's nothing to talk about, Hermione. He's gone and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm coping and for right now, that's all you need to know," Harry stated, his voice making everyone around him chilled to the bone._

"_You're not acting like it's all okay Harry. You can't just act as if you're going to see Ayden walk through that door and grin at you like he always does. You need to know that he's not coming back and you need to start waking up and live your life," Hermione replied while walking towards Harry and turning him to face her head on. _

"_How can I not remember that he is dead Hermione when all I see is him lying there, lifeless every second of my life?" At this, Harry pushed her hand away and strode towards the fireplace instead but Hermione caught his arms before he could walk any further and forced him to face her._

"_I know it hurt and I know that it's not easy but –"_

_At this Harry finally snapped and smacked her hand away from him."No, you don't know! You can't even begin to imagine what I'm going through! My brother is dead, Hermione! Not away or sick – dead! All because of me; because of his ties with me. You have never been in my position so stop pretending that you know how I feel because you can't even begin to phantom the pain that I am going through. Of not seeing him ever again; of not saying thank you for not giving up on me and for putting up with me throughout everything and for just loving me as I am and for being my brother above everything else; of how much I hate myself not saying how much I love him for just being there for me when nobody else was. So no, you don't know how I feel for losing my best friend and my family and the very part of me, Hermione so don't even bother to tell me you know how I feel," Harry yelled as he looked at the tear streaked face of Hermione, while ignoring the tears that was slowly leaking from his own eyes.

* * *

_

"I bellowed that I don't care about what she thinks and I never wanted to talk about what happened to him. Then I said that my business was my own and they should stay out of it and to leave me alone. I said that I didn't need their help; that I don't need anyone and I said that I hated them. I told them they don't know what it's like to lose a part of yourself and that I felt like dying every day. All I knew back than was that I was scared and hurt and I missed him so much and that I hated him for leaving me alone and I just can't -" at this Harry began to choke and hyperventilate that Draco had to rubbed his back and told him to breathe slowly. At first Harry didn't respond and Draco felt himself panicking but calmly told Harry to take deep breaths and to focus on him, only on him. When his breathing started to hitch ever other breath and the trembling started, Draco grabbed Harry's chin lightly towards him so that he could look at Harry properly.

"Harry -. Harry, look at me. Look at me Harry," Draco stated firmly and finally, Harry looked Draco in the eye as Draco caressed his left cheek lightly while the other hand continue to run up and down the other's back. "That's it, keep breathing. It's okay, you're safe now. You're not alone, you're okay."

"I can't. I need… I can't -" Harry choked and Draco could see nervous sweats starting to form across his forehead.

"Yes you can. Yes you can, Harry. It's just you and me, nobody else. It's just us. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you, you're safe," Draco stressed calmly and slowly, Harry's breathing started to calm down and before long, he was breathing normally. Even though he was fine, Draco kept stroking his face to keep him calm and Harry closed his eyes and took deep gulps of breath.

"That's it, it's okay. I'm here. I'm right here Harry. I'm not going anywhere; you're safe," Draco whispered as he slowly drew Harry into a loose hug, smiling softly when he felt Harry curled further into his embrace and held on tightly to his shirt. They stayed that way for a few minutes with Draco running his hands in a calming motion along Harry's back until Harry's sobs finally ceased.

"Thank you," he heard Harry whispered from against his chest and Draco couldn't help but chuckled a little at that.

"Potter, a while ago I practically drowned you in my tears. I think it's safe to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg of my collecting blackmail material against you should you try to spill any of my secrets in any form at all," Draco joked and at the smile he felt coming from the precious bundle in his arms, he tightened his hold around Harry.

Harry then shifted a little and looked up to meet Draco's eyes and somehow, Draco could barely breathe. At the small, sad smile that begins to grace Harry's lips, Draco was barely aware of the hushed tone of Harry's words that followed. "Well, thank you none the less," he said before returning to his previous position.

"You're welcome," Draco murmured as he lightly kissed the crowned of Harry's head.

Like this, with the world feeling as if it was on a standstill, and the both of them wrapped around each other in this little heaven they have created together, Draco couldn't help but forget the cause that warrant them to be in this position.

For awhile, they stayed that way. For awhile, Draco was content.


	17. Going down memory lane

**Disclaimer:**Not mine! That is, nothing except Adrian and Ayden.

**Rating:**R / M

**Parings:**Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione (Not yet), Severus/Hermione (very mild!)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Status:**_Not betaed_.

**Note**:The whole story behind who Ayden is, is extremely long and complicated. So, in order to avoid confusion, I'll probably write a whole side story on his relationship with Harry after this story is finished. So, for this chapter, there will only be snippets of a few memories about him and Harry. Oh, and it's Sunday morning.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

_Chapter 16_

_Going down memory lane_

It was only at the first drop of liquid that fell onto Draco's head that the two men looked around them, only to notice that it had begun to drizzle.

"It's raining," Harry stated quietly and Draco just had to chuckle softly at the obvious statement uttered by the other male.

"Yes, it is. Which means we have to move before we get wet," Draco replied as he reluctantly extract himself from the warm cocoon they had immersed themselves in for the past few hours. Stretching himself slightly, he pushed himself up with one swift motion and after dusting himself clean of sands that had managed to attach itself to his clothes, he then turned around to give Harry a hand, only to meet the slightly troubled ones of his counterpart.

"I don't want this to end yet," Harry whispered softly, his voice nearly drowned by the howling of the wind from the sea. Looking away, he failed to see the small smile that formed on the blonde's lips. He was slightly surprised however when Draco kneeled in front him, blocking his vision of the turbulent sea and brought his pale, right hand up to gently caress his cheek, his mercury eyes glinting with unidentified emotions.

"Just because we have to move, doesn't mean that this night have to end," Draco replied, the hand that was caressing his cheek dropped, only to be offered to him to help him up.

Looking at the hand, Harry stopped himself from thinking about what would happen after and took Draco's hand. Pulling himself up, the both of them ran in search of shelter, the events that have happened throughout the night buzzing in their heads.

* * *

Looking around the now quiet neighborhood, Harry sighed as he ran his hand through his wet hair. They have been walking around for half an hour now and there was no where to go - everyone had decided to call it a night.

"Which means we have to call it a night,' Harry mumbled softly to himself as he trailed behind the blond. Somehow, they had managed to turnaround, back towards the covered sidewalk near the pier they had walked on earlier, when Harry bought the cotton candy. Noticing this, he stopped in his track and stared out at the lights that was still glowing around the carnival.

At this point, the downpour that was responsible to cutting their evening short have slowed down to a light shower, enveloping the night in a light glow that somehow took Harry's breath away. So caught up in the moment, he was slightly surprise when Draco stood next to him and wormed his slightly cold hand into his.

"Malfoy, what are you doing," Harry chuckled as Draco grabbed his right hand and dragged him to the middle of the street. Smirking slightly, Draco then pulled Harry forward, making the Gryffindor stumbled lightly, straight into his arms.

"I told you the night doesn't have to end just yet," Draco whispered into Harry's right ear and he smirked one again when he felt the other man shivers slightly against him. Pulling him closer, he then wrapped his arms tighter around the small of Harry's back and began a slow sway. "C'mon Harry, dance with me."

"I thought you knew that I can't dance," Harry replied in a daze as he looked up to meet the molten silver eyes of the blond. At this, Draco felt his breath catch again like it did when they were at the beach as he looked into the gleaming emerald eyes that was framed by Harry's wet, black hair. Bringing his right hand up, he ran his hand through Harry's wet lock, making it stand up even more. At this, Draco smiled softly.

"Well, you've never danced with me," Draco replied before bringing the hand he was holding onto up around his neck. Taking the hint, Harry then brought up his other hand to wrap around Draco's long neck to pull himself closer to the blond. To his surprise, Draco begin to hum the song that they were skating to earlier that evening.

"Draco…" Harry called out softly as his eyes slams shut, completely surrendering to the blond for the second time that night. At a light chucked that followed his calling, Harry wrinkled his nose slightly but before he had a chance to open his eyes and glare at the other, a feather light kiss swept him off his feet.

"I'm right here," and answering voice replied before pulling him into another, deeper kiss.

* * *

Harry sighed as he traced the droplets of rain that was sliding down the small window to his left.

By the time they left the beach and back into the car Harry had rented at the airport, it had been a few minutes past three in the morning. Looking at each other, both of them did a quick mental calculation where they realized that the potion would still be in effect for the next three hours. In the end, the both of them had agreed it would be the best course of action to board the plane and start their two hours flight home instead of wandering around the neighborhood that was already turning in for the night. Upon entering the plane, Draco then shoved Harry into the bathroom, ordering the shorter male to take a hot shower before his flu relapses.

Now, strapping himself down on the seat of the plane, nursing a cup of hot cocoa, Harry quietly gazed at Draco, who was also getting comfortable opposite of him, with only a small table in between them. His hair was still wet from the shower and was nursing a similar cup of cocoa that Harry had managed to make the both of them a few moments ago.

Neither one of them had said anything during the short ride to the airport and the anxiety that had crept up within him had manifested to a full blown fear that Draco would shift back to his ice prince persona when the night ended. Squirming slightly in his seat, he almost jumped when he felt the warm hand of the Slytherin wrapped around his that was on the table.

"We're not finished, you and I," he stated slightly with a small smirk which Harry replied with a smile.

"We're never finish, you and I," Harry replied back in a hushed tone. Turning to his left, he gazed out the small window to the plane and watched as the plane flew above the night sky. In the midst the dimming of the lights in the cabin, he felt Draco squeezing his hand, drawing Harry's attention to his sparkling, molten eyes.

"As it should be," Draco said and Harry felt his breath leave him at those words. He knew Draco wasn't lying; Harry could still feel the effect of the potion still lingering in his own system. Harry knew that he wasn't ready to even contemplate the meaning behind those words, let alone except it for what it was.

Not yet.

With that, Harry let go of the hand Draco had previously held in his grasp. Throwing a small smile at the slight confusion in his eyes, Harry leaned back into his seat and pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them close. He knew the position looked defensive, especially when the other was sitting the opposite of him, but it gave him the courage and strength he needed to continue talking about the boy who had once been his whole world.

"I owe you an apology. You've been so strong and brave to tell me about Adrian back then. But I can't tell you much about Ayden; it is still painful for me to remember everything that we've been through together, let alone relive it. But in return, I can answer anything that you want to know about him. Memories don't hurt as much when I'm talking about them in snippets," Harry said softly after about a moment of silence between them.

"It's okay, I understand. I truly do," Draco said simply and Harry could feel the honesty behind those words. In the dim illumination in the cabin, Harry looked at him nodded his head in thanks.

"I am curious about one thing though. Who thought you how to drive?" Draco asked teasingly in the way that made Harry smiled at the curiosity that laced behind those words.

"I bet you've been dying to ask me that one since you found out that I could, didn't you?" Harry chuckled slightly at that.

"Of course. I do know that you need to be thought on how to drive for you to be able to do it as well as you do. Not to mention practice," Draco pointed out as he reached for the chilled mug of cocoa that he was resting on top of the table. Taking a sip of the bittersweet drink, he then turned back to look at Harry, only to find that he was looking at him with amusement in his eyes.

"Ayden was three years ahead of us, did I mention that?" Harry asked and at the negative response from Draco, he continued. "Well, he was. And because of that, he could do all sorts of things before I had the change to do it. When he turned 17, somehow he managed to get himself a driving license. Personally, I think he bribed Sirius with something to make Sirius cover for him back at the house when he sneaked off to the driving classes," at this Harry snorted to himself.

"Sirius, your godfather?" Draco enquired.

"Yeah. Those two were always close. I think it was because they trying to out-prank each other, only to found out that they should be joining forces to 'defeat their common enemy'," Harry replied and at this, Draco grinned.

"You don't mean –" Draco started and Harry started laughing.

"Exactly. Severus. Remember that time when we had double potions first thing Monday morning in our fifth year and he came in with that ruby red getup?" Harry asked in between laughter.

"You mean to tell me that it was all Ayden and your godfather's doing?" Draco exclaimed as he too begun to laugh. At Harry's nod, the laugh doubled and it took them a good five minutes to finally calm down enough for Harry to continue on with his story.

"I swear, I will never forget the look on Sev's face when he realized that the two of them had managed to successfully turn his hair ruby red without him knowing about it. I think it was about that time that they became really good friends. So, though neither one of them never mentioned it, I knew that Sirius covered us lots of times when Ayden and I sneaked out of the house," Harry chuckled as he settled back comfortably against the beige chair, his right leg back to its proper place on the chair.

"Anyway, back to the story. Three weeks after his birthday, I came home to find a rather excited Ayden. After dragging me upstairs to the attic, he then shoved two cards into my hands before I even got the chance to catch my breath," Harry said while he reached into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Reaching inside, he pulled out two cards and handed them over to Draco.

Draco took the cards and carefully looked at them. The first one had a static photo of Harry, only it looked older, as if it had been altered slightly. Before he could ask, Harry beat him to the punch line.

"That's a fake driving license. Apparently the two monkeys though it would be better if I had my own fake id, in case of 'emergencies'. Considering it's Ayden and Sirius that I'm talking about here, you'd probably know that their definition of 'emergencies' include clubbing and driving a car without proper license," Harry grinned. At this, Draco smiled as he shook his head in mirth.

"So this is how you managed to rent the car here and back at the grocery store," Draco stated and Harry nodded his head in response.

When he had looked at the first card, he then handed it back to Harry, only to be met with a sad smile. Silently, Harry nodded towards the card that was still in Draco's grasp and then turned his head to look at the black sky outside the window. Looking back down, Draco understood why.

The picture on the card was unlike the person that Draco had imagined in his mind. From Harry's stories, Draco thought that Ayden would look mischievous, someone who resembles Weasley, without the fiery red hair or freckles. He couldn't be any more wrong.

The first thing Draco noticed about the still picture was the eyes. Ayden had the most clear, crystal blue eyes that seemed to express everything that he was feeling. At that moment, his eyes were so open and thrusting, backed up with such warmth that it took Draco's breath away, just for a moment. At his sharp intake of breath, Harry smiled again.

"It's amazing, isn't it? His eyes?" he said. "You could drown in them and you'd never even know it."

Draco said nothing to this. Instead, he ran his gaze through the photo once more. Other than his eyes, he looked so similar to one of Draco's distant cousin that it was uncanny. Unusual for any man his age, Ayden's hair was pure white that reached just below his ears. It was styled almost messily, as if he had been running through it in aggravation prior to the photo shoot but instead of making it looked unmanageably, it just added a look of casualness that made him approachable. He was somewhat tan, despite the fact that he probably hasn't seen the sun for more than a few hours a day. He looked like someone who you can't help but want to be his friend because his aura just draws you in. Taking his eyes off the proto, Draco then handed back the card to Harry.

"I would love to get to know him better," Draco stated simply as he watched Harry took the card with care and gazed at the picture lovingly, and placing it back into his wallet.

"What else do you want to know?" Harry continued without replying to Draco's previous statement.

"This plane. Where did you get it from?" Draco asked shortly, looking around at the lavish surroundings of the plane. It wasn't as large as he thought it would be; just enough to accommodate five people comfortably. Other than the two seats that he and Harry were occupying, there was another seat right next to Draco, across the aisle, facing a flat screen TV that was mounted to the wall of the plane. At the back of them, was a long sofa like chair that easily seats two people, facing an open bar at the corner of the open space. The entire space was decorated in soft beige and off white colors, with a few dark brown added into the mix to give it a warm, safe feeling.

"I inherited it from Ayden. Other than me, he didn't have any other family left except his butler who he treated as his uncle. His mother and younger sister were murdered when he was eight and he was practically raised by Aaron. Ten years later, Aaron was killed by the same person that murdered his mother and sister. After a lot of persuasion on my part, Dumbledore finally agreed to let him stay at Grimmauld Place since he agreed that Ayden didn't have anywhere else to go. Add to the fact that he is my blood twin, he could be used as bait to lure me out. What I didn't know until after, Ayden wrote a will before he followed me, leaving most of his assets with me and some to Aaron. Which explains the plane," Harry summarized shortly, almost reluctantly. All the while that he was telling Draco the story, his hand crept underneath his shirt and pulled out a silver necklace that Draco had never seen before and absentmindedly played with it.

"Do you mind if I ask you what happened to his father?" Draco asked hesitantly. For awhile, Harry didn't answer him, just continuing to toy with the necklace and staring out the window. Draco was just about to move off the topic when Harry sighed and turned his attention back to Draco.

"He was the murderer," he stated and at that, Draco felt his stomach lurched slightly. At that, he realized that he didn't need to know the whole story behind Ayden and his father after all.

"He's similar to Narcissa then?" Draco questioned coldly.

"Somewhat." With that Draco nodded and Harry knew that he understood.

A sort of calm silence blanketed them for the next few minutes as they both gazed out the window and looked at the pitch black sky around them. But before Draco could ask another question, Harry had started talking once again, only about a different matter altogether.

"Do you remember when we were in First Year, when you told me that I should pick you over Ron?" Harry asked and at Draco's sheepish nod, he continued. "If I didn't know Ayden back then, I would have. I was bitter and angry at a very young age due to my aunt, uncle and cousin. Even though I don't trust easily, I longed to be accepted and loved by anyone who would be willing enough to do so. You and Ron were the first ones – beside Hagrid – to offer me those things. If it wasn't for Ayden, I would have picked you."

"How so?"

"One of the lessons that they had taught me was that wealth and power was all that matters. It was important to them to be rich and respected and to them, they would have done anything to do so. They have shown me this since I was young and if it was all that I have known prior to entering Hogwarts, I would have chosen you over Ron in a heartbeat. But when I met Ayden, he thought me something different. He had told me about his father a year after we met. He showed me that friendship – true friendship – meant so much more than power and wealth. And it stuck to me until now. If it wasn't for Ayden, I think I would still be that bitter, angry child that I was back then," Harry said.

"Ayden has influenced you in a lot of ways, hasn't he," Draco wondered out loud.

"Yeah, he has. Who I am today, it's all because of him. Well, mostly him, with Ron, Hermione, Remus, Severus, Sirius and Dumbledore sprinkled on top," Harry joked while grinning at him. Smiling back at him, Draco chuckled back.

"That's good to know. And since we're on the subject, I'm glad that you chose Weasley over me. And I'm glad that we got the chance to talk now," Draco said and Harry hummed in reply. Before he could say anything else, the voice of the pilot rang through the small cabin.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, we are due to arrive in approximately five minutes. Thank you for your attention," announced the pilot.

Looking at each other from their seats, it was then that they realized that the trip that they had been on was slowly coming to a close. For the next five minutes, the two sat in silence, wishing that they had more time but knowing that it would be better if it was to end here. There was much to think about and much more to reflect upon but for the time being, the part of themselves that they had reviled to each other was enough. It certainly shed some light to who they are as a person. As the plane landed, Harry reached for Draco's right hand that was on the table and caressed the back of it with his thumb.

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me on this trip. It was a pleasure getting to know you, Draco," Harry said, almost bashfully before bringing the hand up and kissing the snowy white knuckles. Letting go of the hand before Draco could reply, he then unbuckled his seatbelt and walked into the cockpit to have a word with the pilot.

* * *

Reaching the apartment, Harry sighed softly as he sank into the slightly chilled surface of the comfortable sofa. The drive back was similar to the drive they took hours earlier, both of them too caught up in their own thoughts. It was Draco's turn to sleep in the bedroom tonight, which means that he might as well get comfortable since he would be sleeping on it for the next few hours. Merlin, he was exhausted.

"Harry, you should change before you fall asleep," Draco said and Harry opened his eyes to see the blonde peering down at him from beside the sofa. Groaning, Harry pushed himself up and stood in front of Draco with his eyes still closed. Smiling slightly, he leaned into the touch when Draco ran his hand to the side of his head, burying his right hand in Harry's hair.

"Feels nice," Harry said absentmindedly and Draco let out a quiet laughter of his own. Opening his eyes, Harry had to tilt up slightly to meet the taller teen's eyes and nearly melted at the intensity of the emotions held within the depth of Draco's eyes.

"Harry, I –" he started but caught himself before he could finish the whole sentence. Harry watch in confusion as Draco blinked a few times before a wall slammed down, masking the emotions that was previously open for him to see. At that instant, Draco pulled his hand away from Harry and took a few steps back. It was then that Harry knew that the potion had worn off.

"It was nice getting to know you too, Potter," Draco said stiffly and turned his back towards the bedroom and shutting the door behind him, leaving a very stunned Harry in his wake.

_'The clock just struck midnight. And we're back to reality,'_ Harry thought as he stared at the closed door to the bedroom. From the direction of the balcony, Harry could hear a low rumbling of thunder, signaling an impending thunderstorm coming their way.


	18. Sipho vitae tueri

**Disclaimer: **Not mine! That is, nothing except Adrian and Ayden.

**Rating: **R / M

**Parings: **Harry/Draco, Ron/Hermione (Not yet), Severus/Hermione (very mild!)

**Summary: **Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

**Status: **_Not betaed_. Working on it and will post the betaed one as soon it is done. So please ignore any grammatical errors.

**Note**: Erm, yeah. I know it's been awhile.

Anyway, on a lighter note, as of this chapter, there is approximately 4 chapter left so it shouldn't take long. But, I can say that I did make a new year's resolution to finish the story this year. So that's good news right? Yeah…

So, here's the lonooong awaited chapter. Hope I didn't disappoint.

Btw, for those who jumped straight to this chapter, there is a slight modification on the previous chapter. Nothing big; just though you ought to know.

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

Chapter 17

_Sipho vitae tueri_

"Draco!" a voice called behind him, halting Draco in the middle of the hallway, causing him to turn his head towards the crowd behind him. Emerging behind a small group of chatting 6th year, Draco saw Theo jogging towards him with Blaise not far behind, both with a small frown on their faces. Turning around, Draco waited for them to catch up to him; all the while his eyes following the movements of the group of gossiping girls.

"What is it?" Draco asked while adjusting his backpack more securely on his left shoulder when his two classmates finally caught up with him.

"The practice tonight; it's changed to six instead of the planned seven. Apparently Madame Hooch accidentally overlapped our time schedule with the Gryffindor's," Theo replied, slightly out of breath.

"We told Madame Hooch we'd ask you first. You know, just in case you want to bring it forward or change the day altogether," Braise injected while Theo nodded along with his statement.

At this, Draco sighed softly as he leaned against the pillar next to him. For a small eternity, Draco closed his eyes as he bowed his head slightly.

'_Apparently, it all comes down to you, Potter,' _he thought to himself before opening his eyes and looking up, only to meet the troubled ones of his housemate across the hallway. For a moment, their eyes met and Draco could feel the world around them slowly melting away.

At this, snippet of the conversation he had with Potter a few weeks ago flashed into his thoughts and almost immediately, Draco pushed himself away from the pillar and turned around, resuming his way towards the library.

"Hey Draco, what about tonight?" Theo called out from behind him.

"Whatever," he replied shortly before turning the corner, green eyes trailing behind him all the way.

* * *

"Okay, Harry?" Hermione asked from beside him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replied distractedly, still staring at the end of the hallway though the object of his gaze was long gone. He was oblivious to the look that passed across Hermione's face as he was observing Draco. Groaning quietly, he tore gaze away from the end of the hallway towards Hermione before noticing the absence of his other best friend. "Where's Ron?"

"Oh, I asked him to do something for me. Come on," Hermione replied absentmindedly while pulling Harry by the elbow and leading them off towards the opposite direction of the Great Hall.

"Hermione, what is the matter with you?" Harry asked, stumbling slightly as Hermione dragged him across the courtyard towards one of the benches underneath a willow tree, next to the lake. Sitting down when Hermione gave him one of her looks, he then looked expectedly at Hermione for an explanation, only successfully getting the same look on her face looking back at him in response.

"Well?" she asked, crossing her arms while standing directly in front of him.

"Well what, Hermione?" he shot back, earning a frustrated groan from Hermione, who proceeded to throw herself on the bench next to him.

"The spell? Have you ended it yet?" she asked again and at this, Harry squirmed slightly.

"Erm…" he replied, looking away from her and again, Hermione groaned.

"Perform the Patronus spell," Hermione commanded and Harry frowned at the request.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Harry grumbled but drew out his wand anyway. "_Expecto Patronum_," he said clearly and immediately saw why Hermione had requested him to do so.

Before, when Harry performed the spell, the stag that emerged from his wand was bright and clear, and would prance happily towards Harry and nuzzling his hand in greeting. Now, the stag was barely formed, more of a mist, rather than the mighty king it was before. Ending the spell, Harry looked at Hermione in shock, waiting for the explanation he was positive Hermione had. Reaching forward, Hermione took Harry's left hand into her own and pulled their intertwined hand onto her lap.

"It's because of the spell that you performed on Malfoy. He's fully healed and has no need for your energy so it turned towards your magic instead. It's the drawback of the spell," Hermione explained, gripping Harry's hand tightly. At this, Harry looked down to their clasped hand, before turning away to gaze across the clam lake.

"How long?" he asked shortly, closing his eyes as the wind blew towards them, as if offering him a silent support.

"A year but since your magic is stronger than most, I predict about two before it completely consume all your magic. Then another five to ten years before it –" she hesitated. Opening his eyes, he looked at her.

"Before it –?" he prodded quietly.

"Before it takes away everything," she answered and Harry nodded slowly in acknowledgement. Pulling his hand away, Harry then slipped his hands into his pockets before standing and walking a few steps towards the lake. The sun continued to set and another gust of wind blew towards them, stronger this time. He inhaled deeply.

"Why don't you want to end it? He's safe; you don't have any more obligations towards him," Hermione questioned and Harry laughed at the statement.

"It was never about obligations, Hermione. Maybe at first but it has nothing to do about that now," Harry stated, turning back towards her.

"If it's not that, then what is it?" she prodded, confused.

For awhile, Harry didn't answer her. Instead, he let his gaze wonder towards the quidditch pitch where the Slytherins are carrying out their practice session. Almost immediately, Harry's eyes landed on a particular flyer, _knowing_ it was Draco he was observing. He smiled sadly.

"It's because I don't want to."

* * *

Precisely at eight, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the end of practice and Draco couldn't help but sigh in relief as he flew down to join the rest of his team mates. The practice tonight was good for everyone. Everyone, that is, except him. Throughout practice, he was distracted and detached, only functioning on autopilot as he barked out orders and instructions to the team. It was to the point where he didn't even notice the bludger heading towards him until it landed a hit to the side of his torso, causing a massive bruise to the area.

"Hey Malfoy; sorry about earlier," Kiltson, a burly fifth year called out from somewhere to his left but Draco just waved it off. All he wanted to do was to jump into the shower and return home.

'_Home…'_

Ignoring the word that had managed to somehow make itself home in Draco's head, he started to walk towards the school, only to find his way blocked by Blaise, Potter and Finnigan. Cursing silently, Draco frowned as he found himself trapped underneath Blaise's hand as it draped across his shoulder.

"I don't see why that's a problem, Finniagan. After all, Pansy thinks you lot are quite entertaining, judging by the stories she kept rattling off about you and Thomas," Blaise chuckled, earning a snicker from the Irish in return.

"Same goes for that little minx. She was the one that suggested the party in the first place," Finnigan replied with a wicked grin, mimicking Blaise's movement and throwing his arm around Potter. Potter, he observed, looked somewhat uncomfortable as he unconsciously tried to move away from Seamus.

"What do you think Draco? A party at their place this weekend sounds like a brilliant idea isn't it?" Blaise asked, turning his head to face the blond.

Oblivious to the question, Draco kept staring at the arm that was around the other Gryffindor, noticing how Finnigan tried to pull Harry closer towards him. Potter, on the other hand, kept his gaze away from Draco's penetrating eyes, trying to squirm away from his hyperactive classmate.

At this, an unidentified feeling shot up from somewhere across his chest towards his throat, making him want to slice the Irish into pieces. It lingered throughout the conversation and to Draco's surprise, he realized that it began when Finnigan threw his arms around Potter. So caught up in the feeling, he failed to realize that everyone was looking at him in confusion, Potter included. It was only when Blaise squeezed his shoulder was when Draco snapped back to attention and shrugged off the arm around him, before barging forward between Potter and Finnigan.

Shoving past the two, Draco accidentally banged into Potter's side, causing the other to flinch away and hissed at the contact. Ignoring it, he kept walking towards the locker room, leaving the scene behind him.

Walking into the now empty locker room, Draco placed his broom carefully into his locker before stripping off his shirt. Throwing the sweaty shirt into a nearby hamper, he then walked towards the full length mirror placed at the end of the rows of locker to assess the damage done by his beater.

"That's odd," he mumbled as he gazed at his reflection, carefully observing the area around his side where the bludger had managed to hit him. Turning slightly, he was surprise to note that the bruise as well as the pain that accompanied it was now non-existent. Shrugging slightly, he then grabbed his towel and walked towards the shower closest to the entrance, turning the cold water full blast before standing directly underneath the freezing water.

All throughout the shower, a nagging feeling was ever present at the back of his mind – as he had overlooked something was. Grazing at his sides, he suddenly remembered the incident before he entered the locker room, where he bumped Potter along the way to the locker room and grazing at the other seeker's side. Remembering the hiss of pain that followed immediately after he bumped Potter's left side, Draco's head shot up, realizing that the bruise on Potter's side was at the exact same place Kiltson had managed to hit him earlier.

Rinsing off quickly, Draco quickly got out of the shower and dried himself of hastily, before bolting out the door towards the library for the second time that day.

It took him almost an hour to find the book he was looking for and when he finally did, Draco headed off to one of the more secluded spot in the library, underneath a large window at the very back of the room. Staring down at the cover, Draco hoped that he was wrong about his hunch as the alternative was too unthinkable to consider.

He first heard of the spell – _Sipho__vitae__tueri_ – when he was 12. Tumbling through the Malfoy private library, Draco discovered a book specifically on White Magic, hidden amongst numerous books on Black magic. Curiosity being his middle name, Draco pulled down the book and this particular spell jumped out to him, bathing him in awe of the existence of such spell.

And how nobody would ever perform the spell on him because of who he was.

And now, almost five years later, he was opening back the pages of a spell he used to know by heart.

* * *

_**Sipho **__**vitae **__**tueri**_

**Of all the spells that could be classified as White Spells, there is no other spell more debated about than the **_**Sipho **__**vitae **__**tueri.**_** Literally translated to '****siphon my life to preserve his', this intricate spell of life and death lives up to the name as it balance between the line of Light and Dark. **

**Light when first performed to save a life, the **_**Sipho**_** spell creates a temporary bond between the Caster and the Receiver. As the bond is undetectable and unknown to other parties except the Caster alone, the Caster will bare a Celtic mark on his/her back until the spell is ended and the bond is dissolved. Once cast, the Caster's life is intertwined with the Receiver's life. As such, any pain, hurt or damage sustained to the Receiver's physique after the spell is casts will be shifted towards the Caster's own physique. Furthermore, in the event where the Receiver falls ill, the bond between them will drain the necessary energy needed to recover from the Caster. **

**One might wonder why this spell is designed as such. This is because the **_**Sipho**_** spell can only be cast when the Receiver is on the brink of death due to severe damage to his/her physique. As stated in the previous paragraph, the spell will bound the two life together, siphoning the life of the Caster to preserve the Receiver, sustaining the life of the Receiver and taking on any other damage that the Receiver might sustain into his own body, in hopes that the Receiver will recover with speed and without further complication. An ultimate act of sacrifice.**

**However, the spell also comes with a Dark drawback. However noble the intention of the Caster, a fair warning must be given as the spell will turn against the Caster if the bond remains unbroken for a lifetime. **

**Once the Receiver is fully healed from the life threatening injuries, it is crucial for the Caster to end the spell immediately. This is because, if not ended, the spell will then begin to slowly consume the Caster's own magic, where, in a year, the Caster's magic will fail and will turn to a Squib. If further left unbroken, the spell will continue to drain the Caster's life energy where, in five to ten years, the Caster will die.**

**Despite the urgency of the Caster to break the spell when the Receiver is fully healed, there is another warning to heed. There is a small percentage of the Receiver that will react negatively to the breaking of the bond. Although most survive, there are reports – however rare – of cases when the Receiver did not survive the dissolving of the bond, where they will fall into a magical coma, before dying a few days later.**

* * *

Closing the book shut, Draco gazed up to the clear night sky, what he had read before buzzing in his head. Now everything makes sense.

Of the bruise that now adorned Po – Harry's torso.

Of the tiredness and lack of energy he endured after Madame Pomfrey performed the healing spell when she gave him the all clear. Of how she never realized the bond in the first place.

Of how the a cold took so long to heal and why Harry couldn't get better without the extra help from Madame Pomfrey.

And the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. _'How dare he!'_ he thought angrily as he pushed the book aside and stood up. Grabbing his bag roughly, Draco bolted out of the library, ignoring the outrage cries of Madame Pince for the way he treated the book.

He had a stupid, selfish, ignorant _Gryffindor_ to knock some sense into.

* * *

Harry sighed as his left hand finally unbuttoned the final button on his white shirt as he gazed at the now dark panoramic view of the city. Overhead, he could see the thick clouds of thunderstorm forming in the distance, slowly moving closer towards his part of the city. Sliding open the glass door in front of him, he found his right hand crawling up towards the fading mark of the tattoo underneath the slightly parted shirt.

Figures how everything will bite him back in the arse, even though he was just trying to save someone's life.

At the sudden uproar of the fire, Harry pulled his hand away from the tattoo, flinching slightly as the abrupt movement irritates the now healing bruise at his side.

"Potter!"

He heard the shout but before he could turn around, Harry found himself shoved to the nearest wall, face first. Groaning at the sudden impact of the cold wall against his front, he had little time to protest as he felt his unbutton white shirt ripped off him in one swift motion. But as soon as he felt the cold night air hit his back, he felt his blood run cold when a single thought crashed into his mind.

'_He knows…' _

At the flash of the thought, Harry felt himself being pulled away from the wall, only to find himself turned around roughly and slammed back to the concrete structure, facing the now seething blond.

"What the fuck were you thinking?" was the first sentence that came out of the other's mouth.

"I don't know wh-"

"Bullshit! I saw the mark; I know what it means. Again – what the fuck were you thinking?" Draco cut him off before Harry could even finish the rehearsed lie.

At that point, all Harry could hear the ear-piercing sound of silence between them and see the hurt, anger and _fear_ that was so blatantly projected in Draco's now murky grey eyes. For the longest time, he could say nothing and yet, wanting to say everything. As the grip of Draco's hand tightened around his shoulders, he said the first thing that came into his head.

"I couldn't let you die," came the whisper and almost immediately, came the bitter, bark-like laughter in response.

"You can now. I'm all healed. No more obligations," Draco replied acidly, bruising Harry more than the physical blow could ever do. The thunder that accompanied the passing thunderstorm roared in the distance like an angry dragon, mimicking the one standing in front of him. Harry looked away.

"No," Draco hissed, freeing one of Harry's now bruised shoulders and grabbing his chin roughly, tugging it back towards him.

"What do you want from me?" Harry cried out, half heartedly trying to release himself from Draco's punishing grip.

"What gives you the right, damn it?" the blond bit back, his eyes now shining with suppressed anger and meeting the saddened ones of his counterpart.

"I couldn't –" he began again but stopped when he saw the way Draco's jaw clenched. For the next few heartbeats, neither one said a word when finally, Draco had enough.

"Fuck this, I don't even know why I bothered," Draco muttered harshly before slamming Harry shaking body with more force necessary. Stabbing him with a gaze colder than ice, Draco turned around and headed towards the still roaring fireplace before something in Harry snapped.

"Because I _don't_ want you to die!" he cried out before gathering his strength to grab the other male by the shoulder to face him. Panting at the sudden burst of adrenaline, he stood in front of Draco as the memories of that night flashed through his brain. Restraining the shiver that ran through him, Harry pushed back the terror he associate with that night down. The wind that was howling previously in the distance now rushed through the open sliding doors, bringing with it the turbulence downpour, causing half of the living room to drench in the freezing rain. Through all this, neither one of the two men notice the state of their destroyed living room.

Through all of this, Harry stood his ground, his gaze locking with Draco's, assessing the emotions that were now visible for him to see. It was the sheer _hopelessness _that seemed to accompany every other emotion he portrayed that gave Harry the confidence he needed to approach the Slytherin.

"I don't want you to die," Harry repeated, walking slightly towards the now subdued blond but before he could take another step, Draco charged towards him once more. At the feel of being pushed back towards the wall behind him, Harry shut his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable impact -

Only to feel chilled lips came crashing down on his slightly parted ones. Punishing in its nature, Draco bit and clawed at him, as if pouring all his frustration and misery into the kiss while his hands grabbed both of Harry's, pressing it to the side of Harry's head.

It was the exact opposite of the kisses they had shared before; where once it was gentle and sweet, it was now bruising and passionate. The lack of oxygen hits him suddenly, intensifying the fervent coupling. All through this, Harry gave as much as he received, bite for bite, knowing it was the only way he could tell Draco he _meant_ _every word_ and he _didn't do it because it was an obligation_. And Draco _finally_ understood.

Pulling back, Harry kept his eyes closed, savoring the scorching feeling of Draco's breath on his now swollen lips. Draco, in returned, buried his face at the crook of Harry's neck, brushing across the pulse at Harry's throat. He quivered in response.

At this, Harry hung on to dear life, savoring the intensity of the embrace but as Draco uttered the next few words in the fold of their sanctuary, Harry couldn't help but hope that _this_ will last.

"Thank you."


	19. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Disclaimer:**NOT MINE!

**Parings:**Draco/Harry. **Implied**: Ron/Hermione (Later. _Much_ later…), Severus/Hermione.

**Rating:**R / M (just to be sure…)

**Summary:**Harry and Draco, who are paired up together for Muggle Studies, are forced to live together without magic for two months. Will they survive each others' wit and charms or does fate have something else in mind?

-:-:-:-_**I'm Not In Love**_-:-:-:-

Chapter 18

One step forward, two steps back.

"It stopped raining," Harry mumbled quietly to himself as he exhaled slightly into the body that was underneath him. At the slight rumble from the other male, Harry cracked his eyes open and lifted his head up to meet the slightly amused one of his companion. "What?"

"It's just that you have this tendency to state the obvious; did you know?" Draco replied as he glides his right hand down Harry's cheek. In a burst of childishness, Harry stuck out his tongue in response, earning another chuckle from Draco. Shifting slightly, Harry rested his chin onto his folded arm on top of Draco's chest. The hand that was previously stroking his cheeks now moved to burry itself in Harry's now disarray hair. They held the position for some time, just lying in silence, basking in each other's company, steadily ignoring the chaos around them that was created as a result of the storm billowing through the open sliding door of the balcony earlier that night.

Sighing quietly, Harry pulled himself inward to bask in the feeling channelled to him from Draco through the bond. It astounds him that what he felt there previously now seemed to intensify in intensity and magnitude. What once was only brief burst of emotions, Harry now feels a steady inflow of warm comfort from the other end of the bond. Sensing that their interaction has change somewhat from its previous state, the bond seemed to evolved, now enveloping Harry in a peaceful sense of serenity and completeness, making him feel as if he is falling deeper into Draco's embrace.

Subconsciously, Harry's mind drifted back to Ayden and the relaxed hand that was on top of Draco's shirt curled lightly and grabbed the baby soft fabric as he realized that Draco brought up emotions that was buried along with Ayden when he died. The feeling of emptiness left by Ayden's passing was something nobody – not even Severus – could fill; leaving behind a void that Harry thought would never be filled. The void only deepen when Severus too died, suffocating Harry with the intensity of absolute hopelessness of having to lose another one of his family. At this, Harry suddenly felt as if he was drowning in the memories of both their death all over again.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco enquired as if somehow sensing that Harry has not really present, unknowingly breaking Harry's inner thoughts that were fuelled by the demons of his past. But suddenly, everything stilled and Harry focus on Draco's now nervous expression.

The bond that was somehow pushed to the background now thundered back to life, shattering the coldness that always accompanied Harry since Ayden and Severus left, warming every part of him that had been frozen for a long time. Harry's grip of Draco's shirt tightened as he softly gasped for air as the floodgate that held all his buried emotions open, draining all the negativity away from him. Throughout this, Draco's hand that was soothingly rubbing his back, as if assisting him to breathe while his expression shifted from nervous to worry, was the only anchor that steadied him throughout the purging of the now unwanted feelings. Throughout this, all Harry could see was Draco's molten eyes and feels the warm vibration of strength pulsing through the bond.

It terrifies and excites him all at the same time.

As soon as it started, everything was over. It was only then that Harry gathered the residual strength from the scattered remain of his once dark past to answer Draco's worried question.

"You're warm," Harry answered truthfully, earning a puzzled look from Draco at the rather ambiguous reply as well as the abrupt shift in behaviour. Shifting slightly to bring his other hand to the back of his head, Draco shot him a questioning look.

"If I wasn't, I'd be very worried if I were you," Draco smirked and Harry shook his head with a small smile.

"I don't mean your body. Through the bond; you feel… warm," Harry explained clumsily and at that, Draco's expression cleared. Another emotion flashed through his eyes – wonder – and the bond sang in response. Harry smiled; everything seemed to be falling into place.

"What… I mean, how -," Draco started but stopped mid-sentence. Fidgeting slightly, he opened his mouth to ask but before he could say anything, he shook his head and frowned. Eventually, he settled for a simple question. "What's it like?" he ask in a small voice.

At this, Harry smiled. As the last of the ice that enveloped his heart melts away, there was only one way he could answer that question to a man who had become so much to him without Harry even realizing it.

His rock. His strength. His everything.

"It's like coming home," Harry answered shortly and Draco's resulting smile towards him was like breathing life back into Harry's lifeless existence.

* * *

"I can't believe we still have to have lessons in the bloody greenhouse at this temperature," Ron grumbled as the three of them tracked together behind their classmates towards the greenhouse at the edge of the school. Shifting his book bag more securely onto his right shoulder, Ron then brought his hands up towards his face and blew into the cupped hands, before rubbing them together, trying to gather back heat into his freezing hands. At this, Harry chucked while unconsciously mimicking Ron's earlier movement and shifted his backpack more securely onto his left shoulder. Hermione, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Ronald, where are your mittens?" she asked, turning towards the redhead, who shrugged in response.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be so cold now would I?" Ron retorted under his breath while shifting slightly away from Hermione, who was walking in between himself and Harry. Nevertheless, Hermione's sharp ears picked up on what Ron had said.

"Well, serves you right if you come down with a cold. Honestly Ronald, at your age, it wouldn't kill you to be more aware of where you discard your belongings you know," she huffed and at this, Ron rolled his eyes.

"Come off it, Hermione – it's just a bloody pair of mittens. It's not like I'm going to freeze to death," Ron replied offhandedly and at this, Harry cringed slightly. Knowing what will happen in the next few seconds as a result of Ron's unfiltered words, Harry quietly walked further up to put some distance between himself and the bickering couple.

Inhaling deeply, Harry smiled slightly to himself as he heard Hermione's full blown nagging a few feet behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a rather sheepish Ron looking straight at him, both hands stuffed into his rather worn coat. Shaking his head, Harry then continued to walk further up, cleverly moving away from the eye of the storm.

As Harry watched a small group of red and gold figures enter the greenhouse, their group of silver and green counterparts exit the said greenhouse in a similar manner. As the events that happened the night before resurfaced, Harry couldn't help but sought out Draco, somehow needing to see, even a glimpse, of the man. At this, Harry could feel his heart jumped slightly as he recognizes the familiar shock of blond hair amongst the crowd, slightly behind the rest, walking towards them. Slowing down his movements, Harry let Ron and Hermione pass him – the two of them barely notice the absence of the other – and finally, his movement came to a halt.

Harry felt the world around him dimmed out, save for the blond, who was quite a distance away from him. Watching Draco's movement, Harry felt a sense of calmness washed over him that he hadn't felt in a long time, echoing the events that happened last night. Wanting to analyse it, he was stop dead in his train of thoughts however when Draco finally realized that someone was watching him and looked up, meeting Harry's gaze.

Draco lowered his eyes slightly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. At this, Harry cocked his head slightly in shock and amazement at the blonde's sudden display of shyness. Almost as he was pulled forward by an invincible string tugged forward by the slight smile across Draco's lips, Harry found himself walking to meet Draco halfway.

It was only when he was a few steps away from the other man however did he managed to see the slight sparkle of mischief that was twinkling in Draco's mercury eyes. Harry couldn't help but chuckled as he further walk towards Draco, only coming to a stop when he was directly in front of the Slytherin. Draco, however, shook his head slightly, the smile never leaving his lips.

Walking forward, Draco's shoulder brushed against his and Harry felt a shiver run down his spine as the back of their hands then brushed slightly against one another. From beside him, he heard a breathless laugh in response as Draco leaned towards him, his nose barely bumping against the outer shell of his right ear. The shiver intensify as the felt the soft whisper of Draco's breath caressing the side of his neck and Harry eyes slammed shut.

A gust of cool wind blew towards them and Harry breathed in slowly, smiling as he inhaled the fresh air of fall mingling with Draco's intoxicating smell. Unconsciously, Harry turned his body towards Draco, wanting to bury himself into the other's warmness. Draco however, slip by him and lightly pressed his front against Harry's back, reminiscing of their position at the skating rink. At this, Harry felt his breath leave him altogether as the memory of their first kiss flooded through him. As he was reaching back towards Draco but he was pulled out of his trance by Hermione's piercing call.

"Coming," Harry called out, albeit softly, towards Hermione and again, Draco chuckled softly from behind him. Placing a chased kiss at the back of his neck, Draco then moved away towards the castle, leaving a slightly dazed Harry behind.

* * *

Blaise watched Draco silently as his classmate finally approached him while laughing softly to himself. Looking up, it was only then Draco realized that he had and audience and schooled his once smiling feature back into its usual mask on indifference.

"Yes?" Draco drawled, causing Blaise to smirk.

"Come off it Draco; I saw that look," he replied as they fall into step together, walking towards the Library. At Draco's blank look, Blaise stopped in his track, effectively halting Draco's movement as well. "You're happier with him."

Blaise was not sure why he was surprise at the sudden laughter that came out of Draco. Crossing his arm, he looked unimpressed at his usually level-headed housemate as Draco continued laughing in mirth.

"Good one Zabini," Draco said walking past him towards the Library. As Blaise falls into step next to him, only then he realised the slight frown present on the other male's face. "What?"

"You do realise that you can't trust him, don't you?" Blaise replied in a matter of fact tone that somehow confused Draco. Out of all the people Draco would expect to hear that statement from, Blaise was his last guess.

"Excuse me?"

"We're not good enough for people like them, Draco. We never will be. At the end of everything, what they've done for us, they will find a way to make us remember it. At the end of the day, their sincerity regarding what they have done to us; it's all an illusion," Blaise said with an almost detach emotion that surprises Draco but before he could say anything in return, Blaise started to walk away.

At this, both Ayden and the bond that Harry had formed for him flooded his mind. Was what Blaise said true? At the end of everything, was it all a lie?

* * *

"I'm home," Harry called out quietly as he stepped out of the fireplace, finally managing to get his bearing correct. Dusting of the soot from his clothes, his sight then lands on Draco who was smiling at him from the sofa, crossed leg while reading a book.

"Welcome home," Draco replied with a smile. After indicating that Harry should join him on the sofa, he then continued on reading his books while Harry busy himself with putting his stuff away before sitting next to Draco.

Not bothering to ask, Harry then pushed the book away from Draco's hip, earning himself one of Draco's 'what-do-you-think-you're-doing' look. Grinning, he then proceeded to lay his head on Draco's lap and tugged free one of Draco's hand away from the book, before intertwining their fingers together. Then he looked up innocently at Draco as if he had done nothing wrong.

"Am I to assume this is going to be a Harry Potter thing, this cuddling habit?" Draco drawled after a small pause.

"Yes, you are to assume," Harry replied cheekily, causing Draco to roll his eyes at the statement. He then continued to read his book but Harry noted that the other man was smiling in content.

Harry's gaze continues to study that of Draco's as the latter continued to read the book. It was interesting to watch Draco in this state; he seems to block out everything while reading that he didn't even realize the tiny quirks he does while he was doing it. Like how sometimes, when he is reading an interesting part, he would quietly dictate the book to himself, as if he wanted to be completely surrounded by the story from all senses, hearing included. Or the way he would tilt his head slightly to the left when he is reading a slightly complicated part of the book while wrinkling his forehead slightly in concentration. Or how his eyes would light up when something interesting would happen to one of the characters that he did not see coming.

Finding none of the quirks that Harry somehow grew rather fond of, his eyes then drifted towards the clock by the wall. Noting that it was only five past eight, he was surprised that he was so comfortable with his current position that he managed to forget that it was Draco's turn to cook tonight. _'It's like we're turning into one of those fifty something couple who's spends Friday night at home, uninterested in everything because they're too tired to something.'_

Harry chuckled slightly as the thought ran through his head while unconsciously tightening his grip around their intertwined hand that was draped across his stomach. At this, Draco's gaze shifted down from his book to look at the mirthful ones of the Gryffindor.

"What?" Draco questioned, his lips stretching to a whisper of a smile. At this, Harry chuckled again.

"I was thinking what a boring couple we are; spending a Friday night curled up in front of the fireplace with a book. Never would have guessed it," Harry said with a slight snicker. The whisper of a smile turned into a full blown one as Draco shut the book close and tossed it aside. Raking the now free hand through Harry's wild mane, Draco laughed.

"Yup, like an old married couple," Draco injected and Harry shook his head in between laughs. "Or, we could do something else," he purred while pulling Harry off his lap and pushed him onto his back on the sofa. With a smirk, Draco then continued to straddle the now stunned man before crushing their lips together in a hot kiss.

"Is this more of what you have in mind?" Draco panted as he pulled his lips away while grinding their hips together. Harry's eyes slammed shut as he groaned while grinding his hips back in response and throwing his head back. Taking advantage of the upturned head, Draco bends down to nibble his neck, causing Harry to bury his right hand in Draco's soft hair while the other ran down the other's back.

"Not exactly but it's pretty damn close," Harry replied breathlessly before pulling Draco's head back and slamming their lips together once again. Hands roaming free, Harry slipped his right hand underneath Draco's shirt, dragging his short nails across the blonde's pale skin, causing a strangle moan from the other to vibrate against their crushed lips. Harry was about to rip Draco's shirt off when Draco pulled away.

"Let's cook dinner; I'm starving," Draco grinned before pushing himself up, away from Harry. He snickered once again as he saw the dazed expression on Harry's face and the obvious erection the other was sporting.

"Seriously?" Harry exclaimed as he pushed himself up slightly from the sofa with his elbows, looking at the somewhat immaculate blond, despite what they were doing only moments ago.

"Yup. C'mon Potter, it's dinner time," Draco exclaimed before leaning down towards the still panting Gryffindor. "Then maybe later, we can pick up where we left off," he whispered suggestively before kissing Harry, hard. Breaking away, he then walked over towards the kitchen, laughing. Collapsing back down onto the sofa, Harry groaned.

"Fuck," Harry moaned as he buried his face in his hands.

* * *

It took Harry 20 minutes to calm his raging libido before he could get up and join Draco in the kitchen, in which, by then, the blond had already start preparing the ingredient for them to cook.

"Done so soon Potter?" Draco drawled, pointedly looking at his crotch and smirking at Harry as he pause his movements of chopping the carrots. At this, Harry blushed.

"Shut up. What's for dinner?" Harry replied, quickly changing the subject to something more appropriate.

"Nothing fancy. Just some beef stew," Draco replied, taking the hint, while continuing cutting the carrots. Harry then walked towards the island where Draco was preparing the vegetable and hoped up to sit on the it, next to where Draco was working. Reaching forward, he then grabbed an empty bowl nearby and placed the chopped carrots in it for later use.

"Hey, do you mind if we talk about Adrian?" Harry said quietly that Draco almost missed it. Looking up from his task, Draco was somewhat conflicted in answering the request, especially when Harry refused to make eye contact with him, so he didn't reply to the request.

Harry however, who was examining the chopped carrot with new found fascination, took his silence as a sign that he should proceed. "When Adrian died, how did you manage to cope?"

At that question, Draco's grip on the knife tightened. It was a simple question, Draco knew, but it brought up many painful memories that he did not wish to relieve ever again. It wasn't Harry's fault – especially after his conversation with Blaise earlier that day – but talking about Adrian was the last thing he wanted to talk about. And without the aid of the potion they had back at the peer, Draco was not generous enough to share his answer to Harry's question.

So, coping with it with the only way he knew how, Draco relapsed back to his old personality.

"I don't know Potter. How about you share with the rest of us on how _you_ cope when Ayden died due to your mistakes?" Draco drawled as he released the grip on the knife altogether to grab a pot from one of the drawers. Filling it with water, he then turned on the stove, mainly to distance himself from Harry, completely missing Harry's hurt look at his response.

"Honestly, it was just a question. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to," Harry replied hotly as he slid down from the counter top. Walking forward, he then proceeded to fill up a glass with water and took a sip, his back to Draco.

"Yes, I don't want to talk about it. See, unlike you and your pals Potter, I don't share history with someone I just met," Draco bit back, dumping the entire content of the bowl into the slowly shimmering pot of water. From where he stood, he could see Harry's should starting to tense but he choose to ignore it.

"We haven't just met, _Draco_. I've known you since we were eleven. Or have you forgotten the fact that you practically tried to shove your believes down my throat," Harry retorted, glass of water in hand as he turned to face the blond. At this, Draco scoffs.

"No, you chose the weasel over me, remember. I was never good enough. Correction; I _am _not good enough," he replied and at this, Harry slammed the half empty glass down onto the counter, surprising Draco with the fact that the glass did not shatter with the force of Harry's action.

"I gave up my life for you. Please tell me how the hell did you managed to come up with the conclusion on how you are not good enough when I practically gave everything to you?!" Harry exclaimed in disbelieve, his hand pressing forward and poked Draco had in the chest as if to make a point. This time, Draco answered with an almost hysterical laughter.

"I see Blaise knew what he was talking about in the end after all. You will somehow find a way to bring the fact that you 'sacrificed your life for me'. What's next Potter? Do you want me to bow down to you like Voldemort did?" Draco cried out without thinking but as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had overstepped the line.

Looking directly at Harry for the first time since they started the silly argument – that was what it was after all, Draco knew – Draco noticed for the first time how stilled Harry was when he was truly angry. The man in front of him fixed Draco with such a hard glare that he felt a shiver ran down his spine at the intensity of it. As the air around him stilled, Draco opened his mouth to apologize but Harry growled out his response before Draco had the chance to.

"Don't you ever compare me to that maniac, Malfoy. I am nothing like him. I will never hurt those I love the way he did. The way you are adamant to hurt me now," Harry hissed, causing the breath in Draco's lung to leave him in response to Harry's words. Rooted to the spot, he can only watch as Harry moved away from the kitchen, his hand practically shaking with the pent up anger he was holding back. Without another word, he then used the floo network to leave Draco behind.

A small eternity later, Draco inhaled heavily as he realized he too was shaking from the aftermath of the argument. Turning the stove off as the dinner was officially ruined, he then proceeded to grab the glass that was on the counter, drowning the entire content in one gulp. Only when he tries to set the now empty glass down onto the counter did he realized that it was the same glass Harry had been drinking from earlier.

"Shit!" he yelled as he flung the glass onto the wall, watching it burst into tiny fragments of glass.


End file.
